Sweeter than Revenge
by NotObsessiveYet
Summary: After an adventure at the Dragneel Chocolate Factory, Lucy Heartfilia, former daddy's little girl, is asked to help the other victims of its owner destroy it from the inside. But of course, with this new successor and his grandpa-turned-blue-cat, how can it not go wrong? (AU NaLu)
1. A Checkout Girl's Life

**Hello!**

 **Well, this is quite a challenge for me: writing after quite a long time, and furthermore in another language than my mothertongue. Do not hesitate to tell me if there are mistakes :) So this is kind of a a sequel of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but with Fairy Tail characters. From what I've planned, there will be at least 40 chapters, so it's quite a long story :D**

 **Of course, I do not own neither Charlie and the Chocolate Factory nor Fairy Tail. If I did, there would already have some NaLu kids in the latter (after a clear discussion about Natsu's year of training, of course).**

 **I hope you will enjoy it. Do not hesitate to tell me what you think about it :)**

Chapter 1: A Checkout Girl's Life

When she was a girl, Lucy was said that she could have anything she wanted. She just had to ask the right person. Her father being most of the time away and her mother gone since she was six, she knew she had to ask her governess, Miss Else, who, doing much more than taking care of the household, was Lucy's best ally for convincing her father to do whatever was her wishes of the day. He was then always making sure to be here to hand the gift to his dear daughter, assuring him that he was indeed 'the-greatest-daddy-of-the-whole-world-no-the-whole-universe'. She would thus hear between two cries of joy his contented sigh. All that was well and just fine. Then it happened. That fateful day where she heard of the tickets for the chocolate factory. Daddy made sure that his precious little daughter could participate, using his own employees to collect the damn ticket. Then, there she was, in front of the factory, determined to get the final surprise, as it was promised.

Of course, she wasn't the only one to get a ticket. There was, if she remembered well, a huge boy with chocolate on his cheeks (named Reedus, but she clearly didn't care at the moment). Then, next to her and her daddy was another pale and annoying boy (nerd!) with jet black hair, mumbling about the irrationnality of the shape of the building and his father, which had her shivering a little due to the fact that he was clearly alike of her teacher. Poor guy didn't even have the time to say his child's name (Gray? Seriously, who would name their kid after a colour?). To her other side, she could see a red-haired girl (finally) with the most hideous sportswear she had ever seen and her mother, the spitting older image of her daughter. Both had their names in their clothes (Erza and Irene) and seemed like they were going to war. Scary...

Then, there was this little boy (again?) and his nearly-dying from-excitement grandfather. He was skinnier than the rest of them, and maybe paler than the nerd (not by excesses of video games like the other, she could tell). He even seemed quite cute, if you put aside the crooked teeth he had. But what was the problem with the hair? THERE WERE FREAKING PINK!

...

Well, that aside, she knew she was going to get the surprise. She was the cute little girl with a daddy at her feet. She just had to stay away from the scary scarlet girl and her mother. The others would disqualify themselves quite easily, she thought: the first by eating too much, the second by becoming mad due to the lack of logic and the other boy certainly by passing out due to the abundance of goodies in the factory.

Well, it seemed at first everything happened as she thought, except for the passing out of the pink-haired boy. The fat boy had been trapped somewhere after attempting to empty the chocolate lake and, to her absolute joy, the scarlet girl was turned into a giant strawberry. The nerd was becoming more agitated by the minute. It was just a question of time.

But then... Hell happened. To the form of a cute, nut-breaking squirrel. Seeing its little eyes gleaming made her heart swooned. She just had to have it. Screw the big surprise at the end. She took a few steps towards the object of her desires. Just the time to say "you're mine" and she was surrounded by the other squirrels and the (annoying) Ompas Loompas began to sing. She was then thrown to the bin, she, her daddy's freaking princess, like some kind of garbage.

She heard after it that the pink kid became the heir of the chocolate factory. The _damn_ cute kid _with freaking pink hair_... Who would have thought? Well, it didn't matter and certainly wouldn't affect her in any way.

But then, everything did change. She was not a princess anymore, her father made sure of it. He clearly showed to her that he had been humiliated, and it was only fair that she suffered from it. Every toy and pets she had were given to charity (which, in a way, was good now that she thought of it, but well, she didn't find it funny at all). He began to act colder towards her and hired several teachers in order to educate her in every way. Miss Else was fired. He was gone more often than before. It was the end of childhood. Final.

Well, it could have been, if he didn't decide one day that she wasn't capable of taking care of herself (so no taking care of her father's business was in order), and that she had to marry some snobby guy which would become the heir of the nut factory. This led to numerous arranged dates with some dude named Dan Straight who couldn't even say her name right. That was the final straw. Lucy snapped and decided to quit everything, leading to a long and painful quarrel with her father and leaving her penniless and almost nameless... well, until she decides to marry the annoying guy. Geez...

And here she was, in her twenties, checkout girl without the hint of a love story going on, in a shop that sold, among others products, nuts coming from her father's factory. _The irony_...She sighed. At least, the salary would help her to pay the rent and keep her weird landlady at bay.

"Tsk. Stop sighing, you're creeping the customers out."

Lucy nearly fell from her chair. Her boss, the terrifying Carolina Quarius (Aquarius to be short, also due to her stormy temper and her astrological sign), stood in front of her. From the look she was giving, Lucy could be sure that she was oh so totally screwed if she dared to open her mouth. Damn.

"With that attitude, it's no wonder you don't have any boyfriend yet."

Ouch. That hurt. No matter how many times she said it, it stung her self-esteem! In attempt to justify herself, Lucy stood abruptly. She would have talked, had the shelves next to her decided not to fall due to the sudden gesture, with its visibly-not-wrapped-enough content (damn the kids that always touch the ribbons of the bags of nuts! And damn these ribbons too! Couldn't the nuts be wrapped with plastic, like any other product?) on the floor.

"You better clean that. And don't give Aries candies this time." Aquarius groaned, before leaving like the boss the was.

That was only once! How was she supposed to know that giving her candies could turn that sweet and shy girl to a tipsy wool-obsessed sadist? She seemed to crave some, the poor girl! Anyone with sensibility would have given her these damn candies!

Ruminating these last thoughts, Lucy stood out of the checkout and set the shelves in place and began to fill it with the bag of nuts that weren't opened. She then collected all the nuts and other pieces and threw it in the bin. Satisfied with her work, she returned to her place to welcome the customer that just arrived. From the corner of her eyes, she could see that it was a dark-haired young man with dark blue eyes. Quite handsome, by the way. But wait... Where was his shirt?

Preparing her best smile, she turned towards him, only to meet a familiar red wrapping.

 _Dragneel. Hazelnut Chocolate Bars._

"I need you."

Well, what kind of girl wouldn't be swooned by a shirtless hot guy that handed her chocolate?


	2. Of former Friends and MONEY

Chapter 2: Of Former Friends and MONEY

After further inspections, it seemed that by "I need you", the guy only wanted to make a good entrance. The jerk. She almost believed that she could show off with a boyfriend in front of her irritating boss.

And to be more irritating, he proved to be no more than Gray Fullbuster, the nerd kid from before. What a coincidence!

Well, not really... Let me explain what really happened after that fatal line that almost got Lucy Heartfilia with hearts instead of pupils and drool coming from the corner of her mouth (a sight that you will want to erase if ever you have it, believe me). But you have to understand from her perspective. Here she was, with chocolate in front of her and a handsome lad with no shirt on. No shirt on, damnit! Who would have thought that it could happen? She sure had read a lot about it, but not actually seen it!

Of course, there had to be some old lady behind to moan because the checkout girl was lost in some fantasy and wasn't paying attention to her mountain of dry cat food threatening to fall from the counter. Seeing this, and not caring about the chocolate anymore, he just told her to meet him at Loke's Café (actually, it was Mirajane's, but as he was the waiter and was a show by himself, people tended to think that he was the owner).

Normally, Lucy wasn't one to go and meet up with a stranger at the end of the afternoon (neither at any moment, in fact). But yet, she was very tired that day and still irritated by her boss' remarks. And well, she was kind of curious too. What kind of person could possibly ask somebody to meet up by beginning with"I need you"? He didn't seem like a US army recruiter (not that she had actually seen one, she just saw a notice once). But maybe he was indeed a recruiter, but for top models, and had conveniently just walked up in the shop and had been smitten by her! Then, that meant she had to dress up. A few words, some sweet gestures, and she could have him right where she wanted, thus assuring her of BOTH a boyfriend and a good job. She wouldn't have to worry about her rent, hell, she could totally throw some money to her landlady and go seek a brand new home, with maybe a dressing room or two (for the shoes).

But, along the way to Loke's Café, the question stayed in her mind, filling her with doubts. What if he was a pervert? No shirt on, that damn "I need you" (which, now that she remembered, had been said in quite a creepy way): that was a plausible explanation. Her steps were a little more hesitant, then. He wouldn't try anything at the café, would he? It was usually a crowdy place, with music and the incessant flirting remarks from the waiter. It was even that loud that it was a surprise if you could actually hear your own conversation!

...

Wait a second!

Would someone actually hear her here if she was in trouble? Maybe she should just walk away, home, without trouble. But what if the guy knew where she was living? She was so screwed...

"Hey there beautiful! Long time no see!"

Lucy jumped, then sighed. It was just Loke. Plain old Loke with his glasses at the end of his nose and a mischievelous glint in his eyes. He smirked.

"Well, princess, I know I tend to have that kind of effect on women, but from you, it's too endearing. How about you and I..."

"You're such a womanizer," Lucy sighed. "I actually went to see someone."

"You mean that guy?" Loke said, pointing to the either-creep-or-my-dream-come-true, sitting in a dark corner. "I thought he was kidding when he said he was waiting for a blonde girl named Lucy with brown eyes and nice t..."

"Oh, shut it!" Lucy snapped.

She then struggled to get to her place. The guy merely looked toward her, took a sip of coffee and placed it carefully in the table. An awkward silence began. This was really beginning to creep Lucy out. Then he began to talk...

"Lu-shie Harte-feel-ya..."

Well, he probably didn't mean to say it like that, but it sure sounded so. What the hell? She was almost tempted to retort "that's not my name!", but he continued.

"I need you..."

"You don't say..."

So, back to the present. After a long awkward silence, she was beginning to be slightly pissed off and it kind of disconcerted the poor guy. Nervosity tended to have that kind of effect on her when the answers of her questions weren't given to her immediately. He took a long sip of coffee, closed his eyes in the process and sighed. _Sighed_!

"Well, if you excuse me, I am _needed_ elsewhere, with people that clearly give me directives about the reason why I'm needed. I 'm kind of a busy woman, you know..." She couldn't help but say. She stood up and continued with the best checkout-girl smile she could afford. "Have a nice day!"

"Sit down."

That... was totally inexpected. Out of the lot of things (and there had been many crazy things) she had ever imagined, never would she had seen herself being forced to sit down by a red-haired she-devil with one hell of a creepy look in her eyes and yellow freckles on her red cheeks like some bloody strawberries.

Wait... Red-haired? Creepy? ... And... Pale dark-haired guy?

"You can't be serious..."

But it seemed they were. Here stood Gray Fullbuster and Erza Scarlett, former victims of the owner of the chocolate factory and his dangerously delicious sweets. Except that he wasn't... well, _stretched_ anymore, and she wasn't as red and strawberry-shaped as she was the last time Lucy saw her.

"As Gray told you, _we_ need you. From the look you're giving, I guess you recognized us, so let's skip the presentation and get back to the point. We are on a mission!"

"Whaaat? What mission?" _What the hell was going on?_

"Well, destroy the Dragneel Chocolate Factory, of course!"

Lucy stared at them, flabbergasted. Her mouth opened, then closed, and she felt like a fish that had been brutally thrown out of water.

"You... didn't receive the mail?"

"W-What mail?" Lucy stuttered.

Erza turned towards Gray menacingly.

"D-Don't look at me like that," he began. "I sent this mail in with every variation of her name and adress to made sure of it. It is quite impossible for her not to have..."

Tired and pissed off, Lucy snapped. "HOW COULD I HAVE MAILS WHEN I DO NOT EVEN HAVE INTERNET!."

They stared at her for quite a long time. "Oh." Followed by a "What a shitty life" by Gray and a slap from Erza.

Lucy sighed. "Ok, guys, that's ridiculous. I'm out."

She stood out, only to be forced to sit down once again by Erza.

"Listen, Heartfilia. I know this may seem quite.. " Erza began. "confusing for you. But once we explained it to you, it will be clearer. As the two of us, you have been a victim of the Dragneel Factory. We had to suffer the consequences of it severely. "

"I have to eat a freaking fit sweet every five hours to be normal thanks to these douchebags!" Gray cried suddenly.

"Shut it, Gray. Well, as I was saying, we suffered greatly from them. It is time now to get them back."

Lucy just wanted to laugh at them. They seemed like they were going for a war, damnit!

"And why would I help you?" She snorted. "Time has passed and I wasn't that affected like you did. It's kind of cool actually that it was that poor kid that got the reward. Makes a great story, in fact. But I have nothing to do with this anymore."

Gray and Erza looked at each others, with the same serious face. Lucy sighed and began to leave. The voice of Gray stopped her in her tracks.

"You may say that it didn't affect you like it did to us. Indeed, you haven't been modified physically like us. But haven't you been disinherited because of it?"

"How do you..."

How could he know? It didn't even appear anywhere! Her father made sure of it.

"I am Dan's cousin, " Erza explained patiently. "He sends his love, by the way."

Oh shit. The images of the clingy not-as-former-as-she-would-like suitor came to her.

"Yeah, we know, he's kind of annoying." Erza continued. _Mind-reader!_ "But back to the point. Helping us will not only satisfy a pure desire for revenge – even if it will be sweet to see the whole factory fall down by our hands. You will also get what you seem to lack since the whole affair."

"And what is it?"

"Money. A lot of it."

Oh. OH!

Well, and with it, Lucy could finally threw some notes to her landlady (maybe some to her father), find a good place to live and with that a boyfriend to show off with in front of her boss! Hell, she wouldn't even need a job anymore!

Wow... That seemed almost too beautiful to be true. This had to hide something. Lucy narrowed her eyes.

"And where would that money come from?"

"Phantom Lord", Gray answered.

Phantom Lord, as in one of her father's partners. One of Dragneel's rivals, except that their chocolates were more for the adults, you may say. You could have thought that with such a spooky name, they wouldn't sell any of them, but it seemed that, after five years of existing, it acquired quite a sensual glow (maybe because of the advertizing with the white-haired girl making out with a blond haired dude in a lake of chocolate. Well, he seemed quite yummy, now that she thought of it.). But if Phantom Lord was in, it meant that her father was also in it. Lucy sighed for the hundred time that day. Disinherited or not, it didn"t seem like she had much choice, now. Either her father was making a fool of himself, either he made them the fools. She suspected the latest. Poor guys didn't seem to know in what hell they had been sent.

"And what would I be expected to do, then?"

Erza and Gray smiled.


	3. Of Plans and crappy Letters

Chapter 3: Of Plans and crappy Letters

When she was on her way home that day, Lucy was tired and _slighly_ irritable. First Aquarius' continuous sneaky remarks at work, then all that scheming (well, there was certainly more eagerness for revenge than actual precise plan, she discovered after some further inspections) coming from guys she hadn't seen since like a century, that was quite a lot to take. Then add to that a hint that her father might (or might not, maybe she was being too paranoid for her own good; that wouldn't be the first time, she thought) be involved in the matter... no, that was certainly a crappy day. She sighed (that was beginning to be quite an habit, maybe she should consult for it). She was in for a lot of problems, she could feel it from miles away.

Here was the plan: she was supposed to enter to the factory as a trainee and gain the trust of its owner(s) (there had been quite a debate on the subject: was the pink kid now the true owner of the factory or was it still that Igneel Dragneel guy? Or both?). Well, back to the point. She would then have to collect as much information about the recipes that she could, and every other stuff that could be used against them. Easy, right?

Well, maybe on paper, but as she remembered, it was not _that_ easy to enter the chocolate factory, due to its history with employees already having stolen some recipes to sell them to its rivals. Furthermore, that plot was too much alike to some romantic stories she had read already. What, the pretty and witty girl coming to destroy some PDG's life by acting as a spy for his concurrent and then her failing her mission by falling for him? Too much cliché for her! Where was the originality of it?

Wait...

Why would she fall with the owner of the chocolate factory, damnit? He might have twice her age! Besides which, he wasn't quite the sexy man, as far as she remembered. More like some kind of an old capricious and sarcastic uncle. Lucy grimaced. Definitely the complete opposite of her type.

But what was her type, exactly? She wondered. Well, even if it hurt her to say it, Aquarius was right: she hadn't had _actual_ romantic experience with members of the opposite sex. Dan didn't even count, as he was generally too busy to gawk at her and be in his own fantasies (yerk!) to actually do something (not that she would let him, just the thought left a huge grimace on her face without even her realizing).

Of course, she had seen quite a lot of attractive men. Loke was one of them, although his continuous flirting was annoying as hell. Then, there was Gray, but well, his physical state seemed to change a lot during the discussion, now that she remembered. He was becoming more slimy and stretched by each minute passing. That was... weird.

She could also count some guys she met when she was still at her father's. Besides, it was always funny for her to see that businessmen like her father and his partners liked to show off their offspring and then let them alone like some kids at the nursery to talk about their affairs privately. Of course, these kind of gatherings did not encourage intimacy, as the ally of the moment could be the rival of tomorrow, but still, there was some times where she could totally ogle (discretly, of course) some cute guys...

But whatever, she was determinate not to be the kind of heroine that is always obsessed by seeking Prince Charming and gets herself in shitty situations. She was an independant woman, damnit! She had a job (not very well-paid), a well-decorated flat (on the seventh floor, without elevator) with a lot of stuff (but no computer and a phone that allowed her to text, but as old as her grandma's (by the mother's side, the father's side having already a cellphone, from what she had heard)) and friends (well, if you count Aries when she wasn't a candy monster, Loke when he forgot about her boobs, her dog Plue, Jamie Fraser, Jon Snow... Wait... these two were fictional. Damnit. What a shitty life).

Well, with all that thinking, she was finally in front of her door, and she hadn't even feel tired! That was quite an improvement!

Satisfied with herself, she slowly opened her door. To her surprise, she noticed a blue enveloppe on her carpet. Curious, she opened it.

.

"Dear Miss Love Rival,

Please be kind enough to keep your filthy hands off Master Gray. He's Juvia's only.

Thank you,

Juvia Lockster"

.

...

Well, that was quite straight-forward...

But what the hell? Who was that person? How could she adress her a letter directly in her flat and not adress her by her name? How could she even know where she lived? She just met Gray and Erza two hours ago! There was something fishy in there.

Now that she mentioned it, there was indeed some smell of fish in there. How was it even possible? She didn't even like fish!

Well, whatever. She had work to do. She had to send a letter in support of application for that sneaky trainee project for tomorrow, or else she didn't even want to see Erza's reaction (who made sure she knew she had some allies at the post office that would actually inform her if she did it or not).

(Well, of course, the idea at first was for her to actually beg her father to force Dragneel to take her as a trainee. But there was no way in hell she would do that. Strawberry monster or not. She had her pride, damn it!)

Lucy had always liked to write. As a little kid, she would write stories about her pony coming to the rescue of her hamster and her cats having philosophical discussions about seafood with the dogs. As she grew up, she began to make lists of what she owned in order to check if there wasn't something she lacked. Then, after the incident, she had her period of writing her laments in a cute rose diary, but the poor thing was thrown away after two weeks of it. She then began to record in a notebook the day of the house employees, who seemed to have a much more passionating life than hers. Then, when she grew up, she was urged to make letters of invitations for some gatherings in a very formal way. She would try to add her personal touch on it, but it was rarely appreciated by her father (not that he liked anything she did anyway).

But never had she written a letter in support of application. She may have read a few ones, days when she was feeling adventurous enough to sneak in her father's office when he was away (and they were quite boring, not wonder they were put in the bin), but never had she needed to actually write one. Even for that checkout job. What could she write, anyway? "Hello, remember me? I'm the one you threw in the bin one time! I want to introduce myself treacherously into your factory and steal a few of your recipes. By the way, have you some scandalous stuff you wouldn't like people to know? Maybe we could talk about it with some chocolate!". Like that would happen! Damn her and her compassionate heart for agreeing to have a part in that crazy plan! Why Erza or Gray couldn't actually do it themselves?

Oh. Right. Too recognizable with their physical caracteristics. It's true that it's not every day you can actually see a red-haired woman with golden freckles on her cheeks (certainly the remains of her former strawberry condition) and a guy who had his body stretched after quite some time (quite the irony that he had to depend on the fit sweets, products created by none other than the Dragneel chocolate factory for teenagers that wanted to impress some date without having to work for it). Now that she thought of it, there must have been something else to trigger their eagerness for revenge, she would have to investigate it later...

But let's get to the point.

.

"To whoever will read this letter,

I am here today to..."

.

Bad beginning, baaad. How did she handle the formal letters, again? First say a name, show you know who you will be talking to. And don't say already why you are here, it's kind of obvious, damnit!

.

"Dear Mr Dragneel,

As a child, I have always dreamed of work in your amazing factory..."

.

Hey! She wasn't a kid anymore. And the "amazing" was a bit too much and made her totally look like a bootlicker!

.

"Dear Mr Dragneel,

I am writing you to express my deep interest concerning your chocolate factory..."

.

Well, that would do. Not too pompous, but not so direct either. Lucy continued it for several hours, stopping some times to read once again with a frown and to chew the tip of her pen. A few sheets of papers (more like a dozen) and she was done. She copied it properly and added her adress and numbers with a satisfied smile. Then, she did her curriculum vitae. Admittedly, it wasnt written with a computer, but it sure had style! The display was great and clean. Plus, she was confident on her perfect handwriting, since she had to work hard to have it, and the photograph of her she put in was cute.

Filled with self-satisfaction, she put it in an enveloppe and went to bed.

When she woke up, she went to talk with Erza and Gray that were waiting for her at the Café. They checked the letter, gave their approvals. They talked about the rest of the plan and savoured their coffee.

And for the rest of the week, it was like that: she would join them at Loke's Café before work. It was quite nice, in fact. She began to enjoy these meetings and could honestly say she looked forward to it. The whole revenge affair seemed more like a game, now, and she liked it. She almost forgot about her father and his partners, but also about the monotony of her job. Gray was funny, albeit a bit too sarcastic sometimes, and Erza was... well, quite unique. Her looks could kill if the waiter took too long and she was still quite bossy, but in front of a strawberry cake, she seemed like a cute little girl.

Then finally came the most-awaited answer. The enveloppe was nice, with the red stamp of the factory. It even smelt like chocolate! With shaking hands, she opened it and read it. There were only three words.

.

"Try again weirdo :) "

.

...

What. The. Actual. Hell?


	4. Holding the Line (or not)

*** Hi! Thank you to those who marked this story as favorite or/and followed!**

 **To LavenderMoonRose: Wow, that's quite a pressure :D Well, the story just began, so I'm certainly not ready to finish it yet. But to make it clear,** I solemnly swear that I WILL NOT abandon this story and its characters until I find (and publish) a proper ending that will satisfy both me and the readers **(which is why reviews are important; even if sometimes, it feels more like a crack-fic). I'll keep your review in mind when I'll have a writer's block :) Thank you for it, by the way!**

 **Oh, and before I forget, I still do not own Fairy Tail or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Only the plot is mine :)**

 **That settled, let's get back to business!**

Chapter 4: Holding the Line (or not)

This meant war.

Here's what happened. After receving that rather upsetting letter (if you could call _that_ a letter), Lucy went to her usual meeting with Erza and Gray to share their impressions. Every swearword they knew were used, until they settled finally on a new plan. She (once again) would have to call them. As in _on the phone._... Crap. She was always hopeless on the phone! When she wouldn't stutter half of the things she should say, the rest would be nervously yelled!

But after arguing, negociating and begging, she resigned herself.

So they prepared. A lot. Then, after a few tricky improvisations, they esteemed she was ready.

She had to do it at a precise hour, where she wouldn't be too sleepy or too excited, which would prevent her to utter coherent sentences, and at home, with an environnment that would make her relax. Nothing could go wrong this way. It would be easy. It HAD to be.

But then came the disaster. She could have not noticed it at first, until several events occured. First, Aquarius was grumpy because they had suddenly received a brand new product and she didn't know where to put it. Customers began to take this product and some of the most familiar ones smiled curiously at her. So of course, she found it fishy. Thus leading her to actually look at it.

The bar on itself seemed quite normal, with the name of the Dragneel factory on it, except for the smell of cinnamon melting with the one of chocolate and its orange colour. This smell was even that familiar as she wore it regularly as a perfume. But then, she noticed.

" _To express my deep interest concerning the chocolate..._ "

No. Freaking. Way.

It was her hanwriting. (plus her perfume, she found it quite creepy, but decided that she maybe was over-interpretating it... after some time meditating).

So this led her to that. Here she was, on break, with her phone, calling the factory with the number she found with Erza and Gray.

"Dragneel Chocolate Factory, I listen to thee"

"Er... Hello, I'm Lucy Heartfilia, checkout girl at _Celestials and Groceries_. I would like to talk to Mr Dragneel, please. There's one product that... "

"One moment, please."

And the opening song began. It was quite similar to "Ding Dong The Witch is Dead", but it seemed like chipmuncks had decided to sing it under the influence of extasy. Quite spooky. But maybe... quite hypnotiiiizzziiiinggg...

But then, a mysterious and deep voice appeared on the other side of the line, breaking her bubble.

"Hold the line, we will proceed to your request."

"Uh?"

"Hold the line, we will proceed to your request."

"But I haven't even had time to specify what was the problem yet!"

"Hold the line, we will proceed to your request."

"..."

"Hold the line, we will proceed to your request."

" Oh, shut up!"

"Hold the line, we will proceed to your request."

"..."

"Hold the line, we will proceed to your request."

"..."

"Hold the line, we will proceed to your request."

"I need to go to the loo..."

"Hold the line, we will proceed to your request."

"Ugh..."

"Hold the line, we will proceed to your request."

"..."

"Hold the line, we will proceed to your request."

"..."

"Hold the line, we will proceed to your request."

"Mmm... Just let me die in peace..."

"Hold the line, we will proceed to your request."

On the back of her mind, she could almost hear echoes: "Hold the line, hold the line, hold the line, hold the line, hold the line, hold the line, hold the line, holine, holine, holine, holine, holine, holine, holine..."

"Arrh!"

"Hold the line, we will ..."

"... ?"

"..."

"Finally!"

"Perfect Quality service on line. I'm sorry, but our products are made to be perfectly perfect, assuring them to be in perfect accordance with our perfect quality chart. The perfect quality chart contains 5 perfect rules such as Perfect Sweetness, Perfect Bitterness, Perfect Darkness, Perfect Lightness and Perfect Holiness. You may find our brochure at the advertizing displaying in your television. Make sure to insert only your hand in the screen. Please take note that we will not take responsability for consequences of misconducts such as becoming miniaturized, invisible or being sent to the past."

The voice was sweet, so sweet that it was sickening. But it wasn't the voice of the one she wanted to talk with. It was a woman's, with quite an arrogant air in it and a very fast way to speak. It was even that fast that Lucy did not understand everything at first. And what were these 5 things? That didn't even make sense!

"You... I mean... What?"

"We appreciate your concerns about the factory and wish to assure you of its very perfect well-being. Have a perfect day!"

"... No, wait!"

Too late. Pissed off, Lucy called _again_. The irritating voice came _again_ on the other line.

"Dragneel Chocolate Factory, I listen to thee"

"Lucy Heartfilia, _once again_..."

"One moment, ple-..."

"NO! NO MOMENT! I want to talk to Mr Dragneel immediatly!"

"Mr Dragneel is unavailable for the moment. May I take a message?"

"YES! TELL HIM THAT ..."

The rest was censored in her mind. She just knew that it was really insulting and quite unrealistic, and involved somehow a magic wand, ropes and cinnamon. All her frustrations contained since a long _long_ time exploded like a big balloon under the form of actual words, sentences, that had its own formal logic, but that made no sense at all to a common person. When she had finished, she felt lighter and she wondered if freedom had such a sweet taste.

Then she realised. She was so screwed. There was no chance for her to enter the factory ever again. Learning that, Gray would strangle her with his over-stretched arms. Erza would revive her, kill her once again and chop off the pieces. No one would cry for her, not even her dog Plue (could dogs cry? She began to wonder). The pink-haired boy and that cheeky Igneel Dragneel would laugh on her tomb. Her landlady would take her clothes for herself. That. Was. Hell.

When she returned to work, she was so depressed that it scared the customers who prefered the safety of sweet, shy Aries to the waiting-for-the-incoming-doom Lucy Heartfilia. Even Aquarius didn't dare to disturb her and prefered to spend some time with her boyfriend at his office nearby (Lucy heard he worked in the building trade, with all that renovation stuff. She just knew that each time he went to the shop, she had to clean up the mess as he always left behind him a lot of sand, which was really annoying).

That last thought distracted her a bit, but she soon returned to her depressed state. Minute after minute, hour after hour... Her mood did not improve.

She finished earlier that day. Exhausted, she went directly to bed, hoping the whole day was just some crazy nightmare caused by her apprehension and that she would finally wake up.

And she did wake up, with a smile on her face. She was prepared to seize the day. To gain more confidence, she dressed up, humming some foreign song (that sounded a lot like "Ding Dong the witch is dead"). She drank a hot and sooo niiice chocolate and went to check her mails.

She had two. One smelt fishy. She opened it.

.

Juvia knows what you've been doing with Master Gray yesterday.

.

Lucy frowned. She thought she had already seen that sentence somewhere. Then she shrugged, rolled her eyes and put it in the bin. That wasn't the first time. She looked at the last mail.

Nice enveloppe, red stamp of the Dragneel chocolate factory, smell of chocolate. She began to fear that her nightmare was not a nightmare, after all... and that doom was near. With her shaky hands, she opened and read it.

.

"Nice one, weirdo : D

PS: What is a Balrog, by the way?"

.

Oh crap.


	5. Desperate, but not Sober

Chapter 5: Desperate, but not Sober

In her short but eventful (please notice the sarcasm) existence, Lucy had already experienced fear in different contexts. As a toddler, she was totally afraid of rabbits due to a French song, which was about that sneaky rodent killing a hunter. Hearing the first notes of "Ce ma-tin... un la-pin... a tué un cha-sseur..."* would make her cry her heart out in every situation. Ar that moment, her dad would smile ant give her a pat on the head. Her mum would laugh lightly at her, call her silly, but at least, she would get a hug or two for comfort.

After her passing away when she was six, that fear was replaced by one about her shadow (this was the one that made her the most run). She did not even know the reason, but seeing that dark and creepy version of herself made her get goose bumps. There was still comfort from her father, but he wasn't really one to give hugs. He seemed to have his own problems too, and at that moment, in her mind of child, she tended to feel quite guilty to seek help from him.

She had to wait her seventh birthday to finally understand that her shadow was not an enemy. But she began to notice that her daddy was more away. She felt lonelier, however she knew that she wasn't the only one as he kept sending her hesitant and sad glances. Unsettled, she became afraid of that loneliness.

Then came Miss Else. She wasn't her mother. She wasn't pretty, she hadn't neither that contagious light laugh she had, nor her ability to give satisfying hugs (hers were quite mechanical and tended to leave Lucy suffocating). But she was gentle and very fond of her. But what if she left like her mum and (almost) like her dad? That question in mind, another fear overcame all the others: the one to lack of something. She began to crave of things she hadn't, and to make lists. And she for once felt that the adults that surrounded her understood that fear, unlike the others. It made her feel more connected with her daddy. The more she asked of him, the more he treated her like a princess. So, she demanded more and more.

After the incident at the chocolate factory and the progressive divesture of her dad, she was urged to realize that she was too old to fear anything. It was also towards that period that "daddy" became "father". End of the tragic back story.

But now, it seemed that every fear she could have felt in her entire life was little compared to the one she felt that day.

So it was an understatement to say that Lucy Heartfilia's day was not a good one, much more that she did not sleep well that night. In fact, she didn't sleep. Like, at all. Instead, she decided that the most sensible thing to do was to write her last wills. Just in case.

Problem: she had not really ANYTHING to give to ANYONE. Except for some cooking tools and a few good clothes (What a crappy life, would say Gray, but screw him. He would soon hate her when he'd heard of her failure). The rest was more sentimental, like some attempts at writing stories which, even if she found them quite good, would not hold the interest of her father. Not that she wanted to give him anything anyway. And no, she was not ready to give ANYTHING to her future murderers.

Thus, after a few minutes wondering what to write, she decided to be more optimistic and to say on paper the things she had to do before dying. Thinking that ten was too classic for her own tastes, she settled on the number seven. So, it was simply written like that:

.

SEVEN THINGS TO DO BEFORE DYING BY LUCY HEARTFILIA

1) **Get money. A lot of it.** **At least, enough to bathe in it.** (classic wish, but who cares)

2) **Shove some of it to her landlady and ask her to dance** **the macarena** **at the mall in swim suit.**

3) **Get a boyfriend** (She hoped that wishes 1 and 3 would come together somehow) **and show off with it** (yes, she really wrote _it_. But she would realize it only two years after, when she would find that old sheet of papers blocked between a pair of hideous green gloves and a wrapping of that infamous chocolate bar with her handwriting) **in front of Aquarius**

4) **T** **hrow some nuts at her last customer and scream "** **Eat that** **, bitches."** **And, of course walk away like a goddess,** **quitting her job in the process.**

5) **Get a hand on the one in the factory that sent her the two last letters and make him** (she suspected it was a boy, as for her, a girl would have been more delicate. Stereotype! But, in that case, true.) **eat them.** Like, litterally.

6) **Kill some squirrels**. (as if that would make any difference, one or two less than normally in the environment, she reasoned).

7) **Find out where her dog Plue makes his...little affairs. T** hat dog almost never leaves her flat (which always smell nice and clean, by the way), he must certainly do it somewhere! Unless... He does not come from this earth! (by that thought, her eyes began to glitter).

.

Reading once again, she found that the only one she could really do for the moment was the fourth. One, two and three seemed impossible in a short amount of time, for she felt that her last day was today. She could totally do the sixth one, but the associations protecting the animals would probably put her on trial and she would loose all of her money, reducing the chance of one and two to ever happen. And, let's be honest, the seventh was a myth. Then, there was the fifth one, but wouldn't that speed up the process? Between the idea of dying eaten by hungry Oompa Loompas or the one of being forced to eat a poisoned strawberry cake in front of the sadistic faces of Gray and Erza, she did not know which one to choose. At least, with the first, she would (maybe) have the chance to actually slap the guy, which could procure some satisfaction.

So, with this in mind, she decided that she would make her last day in earth more pleasurable by doing the fourth wish. She went to _Celestials and Groceries_ , settled at her usual checkout, as if nothing was going to happen and prepared the bag of nuts. She would do it at the end of the day, she decided with a very malevolent smirk.

Until that moment, she did as any good check-out girl would do: she put her best smile on and packed the groceries, even with the most irritating customers. Then came the last one.

He was dressed strangely, with a red cap which couldn't cover all of his pink hair (seriously? Was he a punk or something?) and sunglasses hiding his eyes (the sun wasn't even shining that day!). Besides that, he seemed rather fit, she noticed.

But whatever. Fit or not, he would be the victim of her wrath. She prepared to throw it quickly and properly.

"Lucy, you can leave! Aries will be taking your place."

Shit. It was Aquarius. And, being the clumsy one she was, Lucy just lost her balance... and fell off her checkout, hitting the customer with the bag of nuts and breaking his sunglasses in the process. Oops. That was _not exactly_ her intention.

At least, he had nice eyes. So dark and captivating...

But back to the point. Step one having failed, she decided to try step two. She put her best smile on, jumped over her checkout and ran like a crazy woman, screaming "THANKS BITCHES, I"M QUITTING!".

When she made sure that she was at a safe distance from the shop, she stopped and laughed. That was it, she had done it. She had FINALLY done it. That was the craziest thing she had ever done. But it was SO worth it (at least, she felt like it for the moment).

That, until a voice startled her.

"Hey weirdo, you forgot that!"

A rather heavy thing was thrown at her. She looked at it. It was a bag of nuts. Pissed off, she turned towards the culprit, who had miraculously disappeared.

Moments later, she realised how she was called and that just made her more irritated. But that irritation went off when her phone rang and she discovered that it was Erza who called her.

For some seconds, she was tempted not to answer, but then, what could she risk? The scarlett woman probably did not know anything of her failure anyway.

"Hello Lucy."

Hearing her severe voice, Lucy snapped and out of nervosity revealed the truth. Well, so much for keeping this secret. But then, there was a strange silence. Breathing could be heared at the end of the line. Erza sighed. _Sighed_!

"Meet us now at Loke's."

Oh, she was _soo_ going to die slowly and painfully...

But she would not be one to be afraid. She was a Heartfilia! She would face doom with dignity!

...

But of course, fate was not with her that day and all dignity in her ran away with her pride when she finally faced her soon-to-be murderers in all their serious glory. She bowed and screamed:

"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME YET, I'M TOO BEAUTIFUL TO DIE!"

And they laughed at her. Jerks.

"Why would we?" Gray asked, amused.

Wait... So, that meant... she raised her head, with new hope in her eyes.

"You mean I'm not going to die?"

They laughed again, this time much more loudly.

"Of course no."

"But... The failure..." Lucy began.

They stopped,

"Let's drink."

And so, they did. A lot. Before the end of their session, poor Loke had to leave suddenly, scared to even approach their table. God, even the others customers had to take shelter on one corner. Only sweet Mirajane, now visible thanks to the leaving of some of them, seemed to find the whole situation funny. Their talking was not even understable for others anymore, sounding more like some miawings from Lucy's side, barkings from Erza and mumblings from Gray. Yet, they seemed to understand clearly what the other was saying.

After some time talking about political and philosophical issues and one useless debate about which sweet was the greatest (which only showed to Lucy that the word "sweet" could have several meanings depending on the person that said it), then came the time for annoying and embarrassing confessions. Here was the translated version.

"I never had any boyfriend." Lucy said, sulking.

"Tell us something we don't know." Erza sighed.

"Well, if that makes you feel better," Gray began. "I never had a girlfriend."

"Really? Why?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, do tell! All the crispy details!" Erza insisted with eyes glittering.

"Well, with that body of mine, that's kind of difficult to get a girl.." Gray answered nervously.

Lucy and Erza stared at him in silence, then laughed.

"Hey! Don't mock me! That's part of the reason why I hate that Dragneel guy!"

But they didn't. If not, their laugh increased, covering the "Don't laugh at Master Gray!" that any sane person would have perceived coming from the toilets.

"Oh shut up! At least I wasn't rejected because of freckles like you Erza!" Gray cried.

Then, they stopped. He was so screwed, Lucy thought. She hadn't been there for long, but she knew it was better not to mess with the freckles. And indeed, he was. Realizing this, he chose to do the most sensible thing in his mind at the moment. He ran away. Erza followed him.

Lucy sighed at her companions of mischief's antics. Then realized she was all alone at the Café. And that she had to pay for all of their drinks.

 _Damn_.

Finally leaving with a wallet much more emptier than before, Lucy decided that it was enough drama for today and that she had to come home. But of course, Fate was a bitch and decided to annoy her in some way, for there was an old drunk dude that was bullying a kid, with hysteric cries about fairies and leprechauns, just in front of her building.

"Hey!"

Irritated, Lucy gained the attention of the man by throwing him some nuts.

"MEOW IS CERTAINLY NOT THE TIME SO MEOW BETTER SMIAM, MEOW DIRTY OLD MIAN!" was her retort.

Translation: "now is certainly not the time so you better scram, you dirty old man".

Startled, the old man did not even think of fighting back (luckily for our poor Lucy) and just ran away, screaming something along the lines of evil blonde witch sending him kittens on his face.

Then she turned towards the kid. Who, at the light of the street lamp, did not actually looked like a kid. She stared.

"Errr... Hello, I'm Levy McGarden. And I'm a Oompa Loompa."

.

.

 *** Sung by Chantal Goya. That one crept me out for quite some times, so I guess I could not NOT talk about it. Sorry for the personal drama :D**

 **So, I hoped you enjoyed it. Let me know if there are some mistakes, or if you have questions. See you soon for the next part!**


	6. Of Kidnappings and Plottings

* Hi! Thanks again for reading this/following and/or favouriting it :) Do not hesitate to tell me what you think about it!

 **To LavenderMoonRose:** thanks for the review :) to answer you question, the green hair and orange skin are part of the 1971 movie. In the book, they are white-skinned and golden-haired. But then, what fun can you find in having the same colour of hair as anyone when you can taint them? (Well, to be honest, I take what I want from the book and movies :) ) Thank you for pointing this out to me!

Then, let's get back to business!

Chapter 6: Of Kidnappings and Plottings

Sipping a cup of tea and discussing litterature at two in the morning with a tiny fairy-like girl (or woman? She wasn't sure) with blue hair (unusual, she knew, but in her state and the hour in the night, it seemed quite normal) had never been part of Lucy's plans for the rest of the evening, even in her wildest imaginations. In fact, when she arrived in front of her building, crashing pityfully on her couch until the next morning seemed at that moment a rather appealing idea. Yet, she found herself enjoying this.

To be true, when hearing the girl/woman/fairy/whatever saying she was an Oompa Loompa, Lucy had had at first the image of these odd dwarf-like beings with golden hair that she had seen at the factory. So she did the most usual thing any drunken person would do at that moment. She laughed. Like an hysteric one, more like. But she still managed to say some words between her giggles. Hopefully. Or not, depending on how you judge the content.

"But meow can't be one! Meow have meow hair! MEOOOWWW!"

After a moment wondering what the hell she was saying and figuring that the last word was blue, the little fairy scowled and pouted. "How rude. I just tainted them."

"But meeoowww? Golden is beautifuuuuuuulllll!"

"Golden is plain and boring," Levy said, as if it was a matter of fact.

"Fuck meow, I'm beautifuuuulll!" Lucy answered, attempting to whip the insolent one with her hair, just like they do in the advertizings displaying on television (which was a fail, by the way. She only managed to get ones in her eyes).

You'll have to excuse her, dear reader, for that moment, for she was still pretty drunk and shocked that she was still alive. And all these mistakes she had done... Seriously who failed so much at life? So it was the understatement of the century to say that Lucy Heartfilia, usually aknowledged as a witty one (especially by herself), was not in her full potentiel. It would have been closer to say that she was more at her lowest.

Trying then to leave with a dignified "humph", she found out that... well, she couldn't, as the fairy one was in front of the entrance, still sat awkwardly on the cold hard floor.

"Meove, meow mitch." She mumbled, glaring at her.

"I can't," Levy retorted. "I have twisted my anckle. "

 _Damn_.

But then it really hit Lucy. She sobered up suddenly. The one in front of her was an Oompa Loompa. Like, really, the ones that worked in the factory... And she was vulnerable, _very_ vulnerable...

An evil idea came to her, and she cackled discretly. Maybe it wouldn't be a failure, after all..

Despite her obvious greediness, especially when she was a young girl, Lucy Heartfilia had never been one to commit any crime. She couldn't even bring herself to kill a fly, even if that one was annoying her terribly during a writing session (aka describing through a letter to her mom the extent of her daily pitiful life). Sure, she could imagine killing some squirrels, but deep dow in her heart, she knew she wouldn't do this. Who could kill something that cute? So it came to a surprise, even for her, that she ever considered the idea of kidnapping someone to get informations. Or to have a ransom. Or to enter a secretive place. But she was still under the euphory of the drinks and at that moment, it really seemed like a great idea.

Beginning to worry (the last gesture was kind of obvious concerning the unstability of the one in front of her), poor Levy just had the time to think "In which hell had I been sent?" before Lucy put an adhesive tape on her lips, wrists and anckles (always useful to have in your handbag), covered her eyes with a pink headband and threw her in her right shoulder, like some kind of sack of potatoes. She didn't even think of kicking or punching her, for she knew that kicking would bring her more pain than Lucy and punching was just not her style. So, to show that she did not agree with this, she moved. A lot.

When Lucy arrived at her own floor, rather dishevelled and having the beginning of an hangover, she realized that her plan had some failures. Like how was she supposed to open her door when she had still a heavy and moving weight on her shoulder? (because despite of her tininess, Levy wasn't as light as a feather). That problem found its solution on its own, for the door was already conveniently opened. She wondered a short instant why, for, being generally quite paranoid about her things, she tended to check them twice. But strangely, in her half-drunken state, she couldn't bring herself to care about it more than five seconds. She was a woman on a mission, after all.

After closing the door behind her with her foot, she quickly turn the lights on and put her victim in the middle of the living room. She smirked like a maniac, then took the tap on Levy's mouth away. The latter was certainly _not_ happy.

"Hey, you! I remember you! You're that spoiled girl with the nuts, that's it?"

"How rude!" Lucy exclaimed dramatically. "The name's Lucy! And you've been kidnapped, remember! "

"And for what reason?" Levy retorted, irritated. "Some ransom? Revenge, maybe? (Lucy winced) How original."

Oh crap. That little one was cunning. And now that Lucy was thinking about it-

"Whatever, I'm not interested." Levy interrupted, looking away.

Suddenly, said-girl's eyes began to glitter, and her fingers to twitch unvolontarily. The look was directed at her shelves. With all of her books. Lucy smirked. She knew perfectly in what state of mind the little one was going through.

"Well, there's a huuuge amount of books in here," Levy began.

"Well, that's too bad..." Lucy sing-songed. "I would have gladly let you read one or two, but you see, I'm lacking of a good reason to do so. After all, you're one Oompa Loompa among many..."

"In the game of thrones, even the humblest pieces can have wills of their own, " Levy recited, smirking. "Sometimes they refuse to make the move you've planned for them."

Oh... Quotes from _The Iron Throne_... Lucy smirked too. Well, if she wanted to play...

"Everyone wants something. And when you know what a man wants you know who he is, and how to move him."

"The thing I do for love."

"It was your blade I needed, not your love."

"Love was a surer route to the people's loyalty than fear."

"I am only a little lion, child, and I vow, I shall not savage you."

"I am short, not blind."

"Worms have crawled up your nose and eaten your wits."

".. a mind needs books as a sword need a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge, That's why I read so much, Jon Snow."

"Always keep your foes confused. If they are never certain who you are or what you want, they cannot know what your are like to do next."

"..."

"AH! I WIN!"

Then, suddenly, they stopped, dishevelled. And laughed. Like hysterics.

So that was when the two began to get along, to the point of calling each others with nicknames and having the idea of creating together their own reading clubs. That could have been a sweet end of the story and the beginning of a wonderful collaboration, had the capture not been done for a reason.

"Hey, Lev', how about we start that super dupper reading club at the factory? So we can read AND eat TONS and TONS of chocolate at the same time!"

"That sounds awesome, Lu"!" Lucy grinned. That was _too_ easy. "I will talk to Natsu about it!"

Or maybe not. She winced. Then smiled, a little more forcedly.

"I don't think that would be a great idea, Lev'," Lucy began nervously. "You know, with all that happened before, maybe it would be better if I talk to him myself."

Levy stopped, thoughtful. "Well, you're right. Maybe I shoud take you to him. But we'll have to avoid Team Thunder, who takes care of the security. Maybe at night, it would be better, Bickslow is always taking a bath at that moment..."

YES! If there was anyone else in the room, Lucy would have high-fived them.

It took a few days for Levy to be cured from her twisted anckles, and during that time, Lucy and her had fun and prepared. Then the time came to fulfill their mission. Of course, it smelled danger, so before entering, Lucy sent messages to Erza and Gray. Just in case, you know.

The "Am in the factory. Save me if don't answer after 48 hours" kind of message. How original.

They came discretly accross numerous corriders and rooms. In the background, they could hear sometimes whispers coming close to them, but they made sure to avoid them. Then suddenly, Levy stopped in one room.

"Wait here," Levy said. "I will try to find him."

And then, she left. Oh, that certainly did not sound good. Did not look good too. Hell, even with her whole five senses, it wasn't good!

She was left here, in a familiar place, with squirrels breaking nuts. _Damn_. She was screwed. She even heard a strange cackle on the background. Geez... And she couldn't even say she couldn't have predicted it. That was too beautiful to be true. She was so dumb!

And that's when the song began.

.

"Lucy Heartfilia seems to have quite an amnesia

Coming back just to be sacked

'Cause back then bad nut she was

In her bag now bad nuts she has

She has all figured it all, she thinks,

Then why doesn't she take the drink? (with an annoying echo: "the drink! The drink!")

But maybe she will find

That the price on our mind

Is quite different from her daily rent..."

.

"Oh, shut up with the crappy song!" She snapped. "That does not even make sense!"

The little beings looked offended for a moment. Then, they grinned at her and pushed her towards the middle of the room.

"Oh no. Not the bin _again_!"

And of course, what should happen happened. She was thown to the bin. _Once again_.

That's when she saw a pink-haired guy grinning at her from above, with still the annoying echoes of the previous song. Oh crap. The guy with the sunglasses. And FREAKING pink hair. She should have known.

"You can never leave now. So I suggest you start enjoying it."

And then she knew why there never was any trainee at the factory.


	7. How to be Legit

**Hey! Thanks for reading/following and/or favourite it! I really appreciate it :)**

 **LavenderMoonRose: Thanks for your review :) Well, it wouldn't be as funny to write it if a lot of people had had the same idea, don't you think? I can explore both worlds as I want, and it may work or not, but it's still exciting. And _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ is kind of a classic, the one story that you read or watch when you're young and that makes you crave chocolate by the end... (and still makes me want to eat thousand of it now, by the way) Anyway. As you said, now, she's in, so time for more action! (but what fun would it have been if she had entered earlier? I needed to make sure she faced some failures before going here :) ) **

**NaluNom: Thank you for the review, and as you will see... well, she's not getting out for quite some time :) As for the one-sided story... do you mean that it only has Lucy's point of view? (well, english not being my mother tongue it's the first time that I see this adjective with another word than love, so I had to check :D ). Well, if it is, then yes, it is :) I always thought it was more interesting for a long story to have only one character's point of view, so you can discover the world and the others in the same time as he/she does without having to think every 5 minutes "oh, but how can he/she not see it?" (Well, even if sometimes, we can still do it in that kind of narration, it's still a little less). Furthermore, it adds a bit of mystery :) Hehe, I bet Mr Darcy wouldn't be as attractive as he is if we knew what he was thinking :) (Though, I will not use the first person when describing the point of view, for I am never really satisfied with what I write with "I")**

 **I hope you will all enjoy the chapter, for this is the beg... er... official meeting of Natsu and Lucy!**

Chapter 7: How to be Legit

"Oh Lu', I swear to you that I have nothing to do with the current situation!"

As if! Lucy thought as she sat in what seemed to be a sofa, still cursing and trying to take off every last piece of garbage that had landed on her since her falling. The little blue vixen knew too many of Littlefinger's quotes to be perfectly innocent (well, she knew quite a few of them too, but that was so not the point!). And she, naive and trustful as she was, had easily fallen into her trap! All of these details made her quite the perfect damsel in distress. So where was Prince Charming when she so despairingly needed him?

She could imagine him with a red Ferrari (screw the white horse, that was totally overrated!), breaking the barriers and the door of the factory. Then, he would see her and everything would happen in slow motion. Taken by her beauty and her aura of sweetness, he would approach her softly, take her by the shoulder... His gaze would be penetrating as he would...

".. Lu'! Lu'! You've lost focus. Again." Levy called.

Well, screw Levy for ruining her fantasies. Again. Lucy was beginning to think she was doing it on purpose.

"Well, sorry for disappointing you, little one, but I am..."

"Oh, so I'm "little one" now?" Levy interrupted, vexed.

"As you treacherously lured me into a trap, it's only fair that I do not trust you anymore."

"Only fair? You're the one that kidnapped me from the start!"

"Well, that..."

Lucy stopped for a moment, looking away and lost at words. Levy was right. No matter how she could turn it, she was the one that started it. So maybe could she give her the benefits of the doubts?

...

...

No... No. Freaking. Way. She thought as she looked at the little vixen that was so openly smiling at her as if she was going to be forgiven anytime soon. Her life was terrible enough without her having to apologize in any way. And why would she? She was the victim here, hello?!

"Fine! Have it your way!" Levy pouted as she left Lucy. "YOU CAN ROT IN HERE FOR ALL I CARE!"

Lucy sighed. She felt tired and disgusting. After falling into the bin, she was welcomed by the sights of other Oompas Loompas laughing at her and throwing her numerous things she didn't dare to guess their nature, for it was sticky and smelly. Then, they left her here, in a dark room with creepy marionettes (she figured out it was the same ones as she saw before as a little girl, which did not to improve her easiness at all). She was exhausted and beyond pissed. Pissed at Levy, pissed at the pink-haired idiot that laughed at her predicament, pissed at these silly Oompa Loompas, but more than all, pissed with herself. She didn't even have her cellphone anymore! (must have slipped from her jeans when the Oompa Loompas were pushing her towards the bin). She thought she couldn't fall lower in her situation. But yet, here she was. What a pity she didn't get to slap that guy first.

Talking about that guy... How could she have not seen it earlier? These pink hair, these dark eyes... They were quite recognizable! Damn all these strange guys that showed up in front her. She got too used of seeing their weirdness to analyze completely the situation!

And how dare he show up at her work place, and call her a weirdo?! He was the one that should be called like this!

"Come."

Startled to be _once again_ rudely interrupted in her train of thought, Lucy turned towards the one troubling her. Well, she had to lower her head to do so. Oh. Another Oompa Loompa. Sweet. (Please notice the irony).

It was a busty little woman in bikini, with brown hair and eyes. She seemed quite tipsy, as her way of walking was a bit hesitant and clumsy, but she irradiated confidence and mischief. She was taller than the other ones, maybe about the same size as a girl in her early teenage years. She seemed gentle anyway, but of course Levy did too. However, as she did not have anything else to do, Lucy decided to do as she was said. Disillusionned as she was, she decided that one trap or two, what was the difference?

"I'm Cana, by the way."

"Lucy."

"I know. The brat told me to lead you in here."

Right. The brat. Must be the pink-haired guy. As in Natsu _Dragneel_...

Totally another trap. A pretty trap, looking like a comfy bedroom with bathroom nearby, but still a trap.

But who cares? This one had a shower!

Squealing with joy, Lucy hugged Cana and took her clothes off quickly, without minding if someone could actually see her.

It felt _soo_ nice!

But Lucy's happiness wasn't to last long, as she realised there was no towel and no other clothes to change into.

"OH SHIIIIIT!"

Finally, after panicking for quite some times, she managed to improvise a quick dress with the thin red blancket that was laying across the bed. She then looked to the mirror, only to discover that Cana had disappeared, only to be replaced by a plump and orange-haired one. With a square jaw. Sniffing. A pervert.

Since when the bloody hell was he here?

"What a perfume!"

She shrieked. And kicked him. He then got up, mumbling something along the line of "Meeeen".

"Hey weirdo!"

She turned towards the bed, from where the voice came. NO. WAY.

The pink-haired git was laying lazily on the bed. Just when did he get here?

"I was here all along, you weirdo. That's my blancket, by the way."

Was he a mind-reader? Shit. Just as she thought she couldn't be in a worst situation. Wait... That meant...

"GET THE HELL OUT, YOU DIRTY PERVERT!" She screamed, throwing at him everything that came to her hands. Not that she managed to actually hit him. Damn. She should have trained more during her sport classes at high school.

"The name's Natsu, by the way," he smirked. "Not my fault if you decide to take your clothes off without looking if there's someone."

The worst was that he seemed to actually enjoy it, laughing out loud like it was a simple pillow fight! It only irritated Lucy more.

But suddenly, she heard a music coming from nowhere. It looked a lot like her ringtone.

Then, she actually realized it WAS her ringtone, as Natsu took her cellphone from his pocket and handed it to her.

"Take it. It rings since two hours."

Bewildered, she did so.

"HEY BRAT! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND? DID YOU REALLY THINK YOU COULD QUIT THAT EASILY?"

"Oh crap. Aquarius."

"I HEARD YOU! NOW I'M GONNA FIND YOU... AND YOU WILL REGRET EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE..."

"Yes ma'am!"

Then she heard her (former? she didn't know anymore) boss hang up as she stood, frozen.

"She's scary..." A voice said at her right.

And then she lost it. It was a flying blue cat. FLYING!

She punched it. Hard. Breaking her cellphone in the process.

"YOU DAMN CAT!"

"Hey! Don't be mean to Happy! He's my grandpa!" Natsu whined.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" She shrieked.

"Nope." Happy smirked after having recovered. "I'm this idiot's grandpa."

"HEY!"

"Sorry Natsu, but cats can't lie..."

"YOU'RE NOT EVEN A CAT!"

"Well, he is..." Lucy tried. "and he talks too..."

She was seriously beginning to freak out.

"Can't you see that he isn't, weirdo? That's kind of obvious!"

He really looked serious.

She stared at him. He looked away.

"Well... anyways."

He approached her (maybe a little too close for Lucy's taste) with a grave face. She felt suddenly intimidated.

"Levy told me you were nice. Are you?"

She could totally smell him from there. Smoke and chocolate. _Damn_.

"Well... I think I am." She mumbled, looking away.

"Then follow me." He said, taking her hand. It was warm, she noticed.

"You are not to leave anymore, as I said", he continued, leading her in another room which seemed to have been decorated by a third-year-old on cracks with all the colours of the rainbow.

"So from this day to now on, you will be the official Dragneel's taster!"

...

...

"You mean I have to taste all of these stuffs?" Lucy said with a blank look, looking at the piles of candies that almost filled the room.

"Yep."

Oh, he seemed _sooo_ satisfied of himself... That made Lucy want to punch him. Really hard. In the FACE.

"What, do you prefer the bin?" He smirked.

"B-but I'm going to get fat by the end of the day!" Lucy stuttered.

" That's the point, dummie." He said, as if it was a matter of fact.

He sighed, looking bored and totally ignoring her glare.

"And if I refuse?" she said.

His smirk became bigger. "Then, the..."

"Oh. Right. The bin. Tsk"

"Well, I just came to see if you were legit." And then he began turning away.

"Ugh. You jerk!" She scoffed. As if he was doing a good job about it!

And how could he leave like that after insulting her? Sure, if she was just a spectator absolutely not involved in the current situation, she would have find it kind of cool. She would probably have laughed at the poor girl's predicament actually... But she certainly wasn't!

"If it can help you, I don't think it would change you that much." Happy began.

"Do you really think so?" Lucy said, with a softened smile.

"Yep. You're already quite fat." And then that idiot, infuriating, baby-blue cat laughed. It _laughed_ , dammit!

"SAY WHAT?"

Suddenly, they heard a loud, hearty laugh. They turned towards the culprit, flabbergasted. After some time to calm down, Natsu turned his head towards her with a huge grin.

"Then it's settled that you're one of us, now. Welcome home Lucy!"

And then, it seemed that Lucy's anger was flying away through the window, and she felt the curious temptation to smile back.


	8. Not too Late to Apologize

**Once again, thanks for reading/following and/or favoriting this :) I like to think that what I write is actually read and appreciated :D**

 **LavenderMoonRose: Thanks again for your reviews! They make me think a lot about my way of writing and portraying the characters :) Lucy in this story is not a bad person. I think she's just a bit lost and lacks (or rather thinks she lacks) friends. She had lived a spoiled childhood, then faced loneliness in her teenage years, so she knows the two extremes. It was not very balanced, so it's kind of hard for her to really trust someone. I think she's more like the Lucy we had at the beginning of the manga, before she confronts her father: talkative but secretive about her family issues, always overthinking things and a bit superficial. The song at chapter 5 was quite revealing about her personnality, I think. It takes time (and a good confrontation with her father) to go from this Lucy to the one we know, who is strong (in her own way) and trustworthy, which is why I think the story will be long (I don't plan on setting a romance quickly). She needs to open up more. And well, of course, I tend to exaggerate some traits for comic relief. As for the updates, thank you, I try my best! I just hope it's better than fast-food :)**

 **NaluNom: It's alright ! I tend to be quite... insistent when I don't understand something. Anyway, thanks for your comment, it made me laugh! I hope you keep enjoying this story :)**

 **Then, let's get back to business!**

Chapter 8: Not too Late to Apologize

Enough was enough. There was a limit for any sane person concerning what they could or could NOT bear. And that was it. She had reached it.

After being turned into a worm, a fly, an hamster, a rat (WHY? Couldn't she transform into something cuter?), after literally throwing up rainbows for a whole hour (she didn't know she had that much things in her that she could throw up), almost getting eaten by a cat, a dog or an Oompa Loompa and running from mice that were suddenly attracted to her for three _freaking_ days, Lucy was quite sure she didn't want to eat a single candy for the rest of her life. It seemed that the only thing that she didn't get was actually getting fat. Surprising when she considered the amount of sweets she had to eat.

As for the mice, if it wasn't just some joke some Oompa Loompa did to her (or even some pink-haired _boy_ and his cheeky cat), she just thought she would have to call the sanity service. When she got a phone back. IF she ever got a phone back. And if she ever found the exit, which, as days went, seemed more to her like a myth than a reality. The whole factory was one hell of a tricky labyrinth.

The worst thing was when her supposedly boss and his cat (she still had difficulty to believe it was a grandpa, the same she had seen during her first visit) went to check her out, to see if the candy had had the appropriate effect (which did NOT happen often). And it _made_ them laugh. She couldn't even do anything about it! _The jerks._

Anyway. She had finally left the Evil Room and was really exhausted. But she already knew that the next day was going to be the end of her. And she wasn't just being overdramatic! She just could see clearly her grave with the words " _Lucy Heartfilia, Dead_ _for_ _being sweet_ _enough to be eaten_."

Well, thinking about her owns funerals wouldn't actually cheer her up, she decided, sighing. Instead, she opted for sleeping until the next day, even if that day wasn't even actually finished (actually, she thought that it should not even be the end of the afternoon. _Damn_. Even during her checkout job, she wasn't even that tired and unaware of the time! (quite the contrary)). So, for good measure, she crashed undelicately and quite pitifully on her bed. With her clothes on.

Problem: she couldn't. Sleep. AT. ALL. Even if she tried counting sheep, stars or even rabbits. She turned to the right. Nothing. To the left. Still no. Face. Nada. Back. Ugh. That damn dance on the bed had no effect on her. It only irritated her more, for it seemed that Morpheus was making fun of her too.

And no, it was certainly NOT because she felt guilty.

Not at all.

Not a chance.

It had been a few days since she had actually talked to Levy since their argument. If they ever crossed paths, the latter would scowl and distance herself from her with some meters more. She was beginning to miss their discussions about litterature... Well, she also missed seeing Erza's way of handling obstacles in her way, Gray's stripping habits, Aries's candy monster's habits. She even missed Loke and Aquarius! Hell, she was actually missing having a nice chat to anybody! (difficult to chat when others were either laughing at you, or eyeing you suspisciously).

She sighed. It was not that she didn't try to apologize for being harsh to Levy. But she always found at the last minutes reasons not to: she was a traitor, she pretended to be her friend to actually come back, and furthermore, she too had a mission to do (even if she didn't really know how to do it and that for the past few days, she tended to forget it completely)!... and then the moment was gone, and she regretted it. She couldn't hold it against her, for she would probably do the same if any crazy person kidnapped her for whatever reason.

Tired not to be able to sleep, Lucy tightened her grip on the blanckets and decided she would do it. Apologize. Even if it seemed like a big word. A BIG, BURDENING word. She could do it. Or could she?

" _An Heartfilia does not apologize to anyone._ "

Crap. Why did her father's words have to come to her at that moment?

Now, she just had to do it, _just_ to prove him wrong!

So she got up and began her search for Levy.

Which was comparable to look for a needle in a haystack. A rather a giant haystack with a lot of needle-looking wisps of straws. Same uniforms, hair covered and sunglasses... There was NOT even any blinding lights in these corridors!

 _Damn_.

So here she was, wandering pathetically in corridors of different shapes and colours that couldn't even help her find her way around and crying for the little Oompa Loompa to hear.

"Levy!"

...

"Levy!"

...

"LEVY!"

...

"LEEEVV..."

"I'm right in front of you, dumbass."

"Oh. Levy." Lucy looked down, sighing in relief.

The latter just scowled with her arms crossed, looking away as if Lucy was already annoying her. Crap. Levy was still mad. How should she proceed? She was quite lost, here!

And in the same way, she just wanted to laugh. The girl looked like a six year-old whose mommy had not wanted to give her candy!

"So. What'd you want?"Levy said, continuing to act like she didn't care.

Lucy cringed. Then looked down. She could do it.

"I just came for ap-... ap-..." She began.

Crap. The word didn't want to come out! Plus, it seemed to only make Levy angrier.

"What? Appetite?"

"No! ap-..., ap-..."

"Apes?"

"NO ! To ap-..."

"JUST WHAT THE HELL DID YOU CALL ME FOR?"

"I CAME TO APOLOGIZE, DAMMIT!"

"Oh." There came a long pause in the conversation, each of them eyeing each others with uncertainty and wariness.

"Wasn't it obvious?"

"Hell no."

"Oh. My bad. So?"

"Ok."

Wow. That was easy.

But then Levy smirked. Oh. She was screwed.

"But on one condition..."

...

Of all places Lucy Heartfilia could have been (willingly, that is), she never knew she would find herself sitting in a baby-blue room, surrounded by a big majority of Oompa Loompas, either shaking nervously or looking angry as hell.

"Hello, I'm Pascal. And I'm antisocial."

"Hello Pascal." several voices answered at the same time.

And this was how she learnt, among all things, that Pascal had a cat named Toby that was always sleeping in his shoes, leaving them with a bunch of hair, and that he had to clean some parts of himself (first the fingers, then the nose and mouth and the toes. Same order at each time) every five minutes in order not to be infected by the others' stupidity, but also more importantly of the existence of The Antisocial Anonymous, group therapy led by none other than the white-haired beauty and owner of a Café Mirajane Strauss (why the hell was she even here? How did she even enter the damn factory)

"I work in here for the week-ends. My sister Lisanna became an Oompa Loompa. Long story no time to tell," The white-haired answered sweetly and briskly.

Oh. This explained it. But if she didn't want to share her story, why had she even mentioned it? Wait... Say what? How did she know...

"You're thinking out loud, Lucy." Mirajane smiled. "Anyway as you see, we have a new person here. Lucy, I would like you to present yourself..."

"Hey! I'm not antisocial!" Lucy protested.

"DENIAL!" The other voices cried.

"I'M NOT IN DENIAL!" She cried.

"DENIAL!"

"Well, sure she is." another voice came.

Happy.

As in, the cheeky cat. With wings. Talking. The one that had been laughing at her since the beginning. That cat.

But before Lucy could find the time to calm down and analyze quietly the situation, the infamous Natsu Dragneel, aka the freaking cat's grandchild came suddenly by the door, screaming with panic: "HERE COMES THE STRAWBERRY MONSTER AND ITS MINIONS! WOMEN AND CHILDREN, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! MEN, WITH MEEEEE!"

That was the final straw.

"Ugh."

And this was the sound of Lucy's sanity flying away like a swallow in spring. And the last thought she actually had about it was: "what a sexist".

Then, Mirajane stood out, a scowl in her usually sweet and serene face.

"Let me handle it."

Several minutes later, she came back, smiling as sweetly as usual.

"So, where were we?"

But she couldn't continue, as happy cries of Oompa Loompas and singing were heard through the door. So the other decided to leave to join the fun, leaving a slightly pissed off Mirajane all alone with empty chairs around her. Lucy decided she should better go too. But the spectacle that was awaiting her was certainly NOT what she could have expected.

In the middle of the room was sitting an angry and very-much-tied-in-an-uncomfortable-way Erza Scarlett. Lucy approached her, taking great care of not touching any Oompa Loompas, as these little ones seemed to be in trance, not minding anything but the red-haired woman in front of them.

"Er... Hi. Why did you come? And... How did they catch you?" Lucy said after being close enough.

"Hi. You sent a message, dummie. And didn't sent another after. So I came with my team. But these miserable excuses of individuals lured me with a strawberry cake. You?"

"They threw me in the bin after putting me in a room with squirrels."

"Oh. Again?"

Lucy sighed. Then Erza began, with a serious-enough-to-kill expression in her face that accentuated her yellow freckles (contrast, you see).

"Did they touch you in any way that wasn't decent enought?"

"Nope. But I don't think they even know the meaning of "decent"."

Silence.

"How did you enter the factory?" Lucy asked.

"Have I not told you I was a cop?"

"Hell no!"

"Oops. My bad."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "You don't say..."

And they began to watch the other Oompa Loompas singing and dancing around them.


	9. Erza's Trial

**Hey!**

 **Thanks for reading and following and/or favorite it :)**

 **LavenderMoonRose: Well, I can't bring the action right now, there's not enough development for that. Thanks for your help! And yes, as I said, English is not my first langage, it's French. Writing is a good way to improve oneself, I think :) I will try to read again and correct these chapters when I'll have more time!**

 **I hope you will enjoy it :)**

 **PS: And for those who wondered... no, Lisanna shall not be in this story a jealous and out-of-character bitch that wants Natsu all to herself, she will just be a good girl trying to protect her friends :)**

Chapter 9: Erza's Trial

"We are gathered here today in order to judge the woman named Erza Scarlett's actions. The defendant did not wish for any lawyer and intended to defend herself. May the trial begin. Let's read the criminal charges raised against the defendant."

The sound of a hammer echoed in the room. For once, it was strangely silent, even if a huge number of Oompa Loompas were sat in there. They all had a serious expression on their face.

The one that said it was the smallest and the oldest of the Oompa Loompas, but what he hadn't in heigh was compensated by some aura of wisdom, albeit a bit of mischief. His name was Makarov, as Lucy recalled. Their leader.

Erza was in her dock with her hands tied by fluffy pink handcuffs (the only ones they had, from what Lucy had found out). She seemed solemn and a bit nervous, like an actress during her first play. But she stayed calm during the list of her acts.

Lucy didn't really listened it all, knowing full well that she wouldn't learn anything new...

"... had destroyed the factory gate with 5 other companions that were not recognized..."

That must be during her entrance at the factory with her teammates...

"...Tried to build a tunnel to get in..."

"... Had an habit of kicking said-gate every Valentine's Day since five years..."

Here, Lucy was compassionate, for she too had felt the urge to do so in that day. Nothing was better than a good kick in that bloody chocolate factory's gate on the day where everyone gets to be offered chocolate but not you.

".. Sent several threatening letters to our account manager Miss Ever Green involving the lack of strawberry in the product number 1585..."

Well, that's Erza to you. Thou shall never forget the strawberry...

"... Sent thirty three knives to said victim with a message that said "Be prepared"..."

... Well, that was odd.

"... Showed up the next morning at the gates, declaring that she was on war with the factory and wanted to fight with the victim..."

"... Sent numerous rats and mice by the ventilation shaft..."

Oh, so, it was her!

".. Blocked said ventilation shaft with strawberry plushes..."

"... Set fire to the factory stand when the Chocolate Market of december took place..."

As the accusations were listed, Lucy felt less and less inclined to defend her friend and a bit more crept out. Wait.. Was it really her friend? Maybe she could do as if she did not know her? It would be best, you know, for her mission...

Well, now she knew why Erza couldn't do the mission by herself. She was too well-know in there for that, freckles or not.

".. Pretended she was an overgrown Oompa Loompa by having eaten too much soup..."

"... Ate every strawberries in the guest room..."

...

Okay, now, it was being ridiculous. There wasn't even any order in that list ! She stood up, beginning to leave.

"Miss Heartfilia, would you please be kind enough to be silent during the judgement and to sit down?"

That wasn't a question. It sounded like this by the syntax, but the tone was saying otherwise. And strangely, the little man seemed quite... imposing now... Like a giant. Creepy.

"Yes sir!" She mumbled, taking her place once more. Even her father wasn't that intimidating.

"Then let's continue."

And they did. For forty minutes, not less. Lucy was bored... And quite flabbergasted by the amount of charges. Then, it was the time for Erza's defence.

She stood up, a powerful aura around her like she was about to conquer the whole room with her hands tied. The Oompa Loompas were suddenly quite frightened. Even the judge seemed to be intimidated, as his back stiffened and his eyes widened. She looked at right, then left, and began to open her mouth.

... And here came nothing. The poor girl trembled, her mouth agape, as if blocked in time and space. But she still looked determined.

"I.. I..."

The Oompa Loompas pricked up their ears, on the watch like meerkats.

"I... I... I d-didn't set fire to that stand." She said guiltily, lowering her head in shame.

Wow... That was one hell of an epic fail, thought Lucy.

The Oompa Loompas seemed to think so too because then came the sentence.

"GUILTY! TO THE JAILS! TO THE JAILS! THE STRAWBERRY MONSTER!"

It was quickly approved by Makarov's hammer.

And just like that, it was finished, and the room began to empty itself. Erza was still in the box when Lucy came to her. But she had to negociate with an angry-looking Oompa Loompa a few moments before being able to approach her. She tried to use her sex appeal, but it only allowed her five minutes. These little ones had such a bad taste!

"Hey, " she began nervously. "What happened? You seemed to be so confident before talking..."

Erza's head was still lowered in shame as she answered: "I overestimated my ability of acting without repeating properly. I have still work to do before reaching my final goal of being the most talented actress the world has ever seen."

At that moment, Lucy was tempted to voice her doubts about it, but after several thoughts, she decided that it would only attract her wrath. So she changed the subject.

"By the way, where is Gray? I would have thought he would come with you."

Erza raised up her head suddenly, with desperate glints in her eyes.

"I failed at being a proper friend. You'll have to beat me, Lucy."

Lucy was baffled.

"Hell no!" Then, she calmed down and continued, more quietly. "What happened?"

"Gray disappeared four days ago."

"What?"

And suddenly, the angry Oompa Loompa appeared, leading three others ones in order to take Erza.

"Five minutes have passed."

"What? Hey, wait, what do you mean, he disappeared?"

"Five minutes!"

"I've heard it!" Lucy snapped.

"Look, Lucy, " Erza began. "You'll have to come see me, and then we'll elaborate a plan..."

"It's over now!"

Over, yes, it was, with any chance of ever getting any revenge for now. Erza was neutralized, Gray disappeared, and she was once again a damn prisonner. GREAT.

And then they took Erza in some place, leaving Lucy alone in the room. Well, almost.

"Hey, Lucy..."

She turned back. It was that damn pink-haired boy. Why was he here? He wasn't even present during the trial! Happy was beside him, grinning.

"What?"

"Was she your friend? The strawberry monster?" he asked seriously.

She stared at him suspiciously.

"What if she is?"

He stretched his arms casually.

"Well, I always knew you were a weirdo..."

"That's true! Lucy is such a weirdo!" Happy repeated... well.. happily.

"Are you here to actually work or just to laugh at me about my almost inexistant social life?" She snapped.

"Hey, " Natsu protested. "I just want..."

"I don't care..." She interrupted, irritated. "... about what you want."

"That's mean!" but then he calmed down, with a little smile. "Well, if that makes you feel better, you have us now, you're not alone anymore."

"How yes, I feel totally, really better now! I can't leave this damn factory anymore, my dog is still at my flat and the people that I happen to actually care about are either imprisoned or disappeared mysteriously. I feel _so_ loved!" She snarled, before continuing with her arms crossed. "Anyway, as if you actually know what it feels to be alone."

"As a matter of fact I do!" He snapped at her, looking at her in the eyes.

And then, just like that, he left, angrily.

It was as that moment Lucy knew she fucked up. And that Natsu's eyes were green, by the way. Not that she actually cared, just that it was a nice colour.

"You know..." Happy began. "It must be the first time someone actually made him angry like that. I would feel _very very_ awful if it was me."

"Shut it, grandcat! You are so not helping!"

"Well, I was actually helping, " he answered with a smile full of mischief.

And then he left towards the direction where his grandson went.

Lucy sighed. As if her life wasn't already complicated enough! Now, she just had to apologize. _Again_. Maybe she _was_ antisocial, after all, for getting into all these arguments. She stood up, determined to seek that pink-haired idiot and to make it up to him. It would be hard, but she was prepared for it.

...

But when she realized he was actually brooding in the next room (without Happy, curiously), she was really tempted to laugh.

"Why are you here?"

"Why? You leave me full of incomplete informations and expect me to let it stay like this? I'm curious!" Lucy retorted, sitting by his side and crossing her legs.

"You're really weird."

"HEY!" Before adding, more quietly. "It's only natural..."

"Anyway..."

He looked away, seeming lost at words. And maybe a little bit embarrassed. With a curious smile, Lucy approached him a little more.

"So..." Lucy began, her head on her right wrist and legs still crossed.

'What?"

"Are you going to tell me your crappy backstory or not?"

"Shut up!" Natsu whined.

He pouted. Lucy's smile widened. He was _soo_ about to spill the beans.

"Well, in fact..." he began, scratching the back of his head.

Yes yes yes !

"NATSU!" A feminine voice cried.

And suddenly the poor pink-haired boy was attacked by a tiny white-haired girl.

"Lisanna, " He mumbled. "Why are you here?"

"Freed is asking you in Floor 4. Seems like Ever had done it again."

"Crap."

And just like that, he left. To say that Lucy was disappointed was quite the understatement of the year. Then the white-haired girl turned towards her, suspiciously.

"What are your intentions?"

"Uh?"

"Your intentions, Blondie. Towards the factory. Towards Natsu."

Lucy stared at her. Hard. Then, she exploded in laughter.

"Nooo... Don't tell me that in this story, you're the jealous girl smitten by her boss that feels threatened by the new girl?"

"What?" The girl said, baffled. "And the name's Lisanna, by the way."

"That's ridiculous!" Lucy was laughing her ass off. "It's _sooo_ overused!"

"You don't say..." Lisanna sweat-dropped.

When she calmed herself, Lucy smirked at her, then said:

"You don't have to worry. I'm not going to steal your Natsu away from you."

"That's not what I was talking about!"

Then, the white-haired girl smirked. "In fact, I think it would be cute and fun to see pink-haired children with brown eyes running around the factory."

"WHAT?!"

"Thirty-three would be a good number."

"WHAT?! HELL, THAT'S NOT EVEN BIOLOGICALLY POSSIBLE!"

"You're blushing. Looks like you considered it."

"AS IF!"

"Well, as it is going, I doubt you will at any moment scheme for ruining the factory. So why not being friends?"

"What? What makes you say that? Maybe I'm just waiting for the right moment!"

"You lack motivation. Especially now."

And then, Lucy was lost at words. And Lisanna left with a smirk.

Why did they all have to leave her like that? That was preposterous!

But then, she realized...

She hadn't even apologized!


	10. With all the Colours in You

Chapter 10: With all the Colours in You

Making close friends had never been an usual and easy thing for Lucy. As a matter of fact, she tended to be the kind of girl that talks a lot, but doesn't actually get close to someone to the point of sharing secrets and laundry. Sure, she would have fun with others, but it was always kind of superficial. Yet, since the beginning of this strange mission, she found more difficult NOT TO make any friend.

She began to care for Gray and his whereabouts, and for Erza and her belligerent tendancies. To face it was terrifying and brought back memories she didn't want to talk about. It was now even more painful as she didn't know where Gray was and that Erza had been put into arrest without her doing anything about it. The fact that all these things were acted ridiculously did not even ease her pain. She felt guilty. She accepted to do this in order to know what her father was up to and maybe be a good girl and save some unaware guys. Now she had no power to do even one of these things.

As she was moping about it at the factory's bar with Lisanna serving her hot chocolate (funny how the two sisters were alike), Levy approached her with a smile.

"Come on, Lucy, don't be sad. You have us now."

She turned towards the little Oompa Loompa and tried to smile, but failed.

"Come with me," Levy continued. "I'm going to introduce you to the others. "

And she did. Our heroine officially met Cana Alberona, the one that led her to her room (and lent her temporary clothes, which were kind of stretched on her). Lisanna suggested, by the way, that she could give her the clothes she had when she was big (she still wondered about that story).

Lucy found out that the brunette was kind of a drunkard, but she was very nice and had a good sense of humour. She learned many names, including some odd ones like Freed or Ever (said-persons did not even aknowledged her presence. The jerks) and shook many hands. They seemed all nice and fun. Surprisingly, she found that she really wanted to know about them.

Then, out of nowhere, came loud cries.

"LEVYY!"

And suddenly, the poor blue-haired fairy was attacked by two men. Lucy was preparing herself to help her when said-victim began to talk.

"Jet! Droy! Get out!"

"BUT WE THOUGHT WE LOST YOU LAST TIME AT THE CITY!" They protested.

"You did, you idiots."

And that was how she learned that these two were supposed to help her doing some deliveries during the night when she got her twisted ankle. Pissed off, Lucy began to reprimand them.

"Hey, jackasses! How irresponsible can you be? How could you let her all alone in the dark? She could have found someone with bad intentions! Then, she would have been abducted, let starved to death and maybe... abused! How can you live with yourself, you bunch of idiots?!"

"Yes ma'am! We're miserable, ma'am!" They cried with despair in their eyes. They didn't even questioned who she was, they just accepted punishment. Odd. But quite enjoyable.

"THAT IS NOT ENOUGH!"

"Hey Lucy..." Levy sweat-dropped. "You kind of did it too... Well, except for the starving and the abusing part..."

"Anyway..." Lucy looked away, looking for something else to focus on. Oh, Natsu.

Natsu?

Crap. He only meant trouble.

"Hey Lucy! I was looking for you, actually!" He exclaimed with a grin.

She sighed. Jet and Droy used this distraction to get out of there, with Levy sighing irritably at them.

"What for, now?" Lucy asked, tired already.

"What for? You're working here, now, remember!" He smirked. " So do your job."

"You're going to pester me until I do, right? " She sighed.

"Damn right I will. Here. Eat it."

"Er... What is this supposed to be?"

Lucy looked at the little rainbow-coloured sweet that Natsu was handing her.

"This? It's the new super cool colour-mood sweet. You eat it, and everyone can tell what's your mood of the day! Super cool, don't you think?"

Sure, that sounded innocent... She stared at him. He was grinning _just_ _a little_ _bit_ _too much_. And there was one "super cool" _too much_ in his sentence...

There had to be a trap somewhere.

"Where?"

"Where is what?"

"Where is the trap?"

"There is no trap..."

He really seemed to enjoy torturing her.

"There has to be. You look sneaky."

"And you're weird. The only difference here is that I actually have the power to throw you to the bin _over_ and _over_ again."

She sighed. The bin threat was beginning to be kind of old.

"Where do you have to look to see the effect?"

"Don't know."

"Dumbass."

His grin got only larger.

"Come on, Lucy, where's your sense of adventure?"

"It had been thrown to the bin last time I checked. "

"Don't be such a fun sucker, let's find out!"

She looked at it. Sure, it was tempting, and that cute little rainbow-coloured sweet seemed innocent. Maybe a little too much...

"Well, that can't be worst than your 36 last inventions..." She sighed.

"Hey! You're supposed to feel sorry and make up for this, you weirdo, not insulting my inventions! And it was 35, by the way."

"36. Did you just call me weirdo again?"

"Oh yeah, I've forgotten the pimple one. Just eat it!"

With an extreme hesitation, she took it, looked at him closely and swallowed it. He was grinning _all the damn time_.

Then he turned around her, looking up and down, right and left, arms crossed and chin on his right hand. Like a creepy vulture. Lucy felt invaded. That was then she realized she had forgotten that others were watching. Lisanna was wriggling her eyebrows suggestively. Levy looked even amused. _Damn_.

When Natsu faced her finally, she released a breath she had been holding.

"Oh, that's just the hair? What a disappointment." He stated, pouting.

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU EXPECTING IT TO BE?" She shouted, irritated.

But then, she checked at the mirror at the bar. Her hair, once golden, had become tainted in a deep red colour that was fading slowly as she calmed down. Now, it was more like her original shade, just a little more... flashy. But she didn't mind.

Natsu was taking notes and ogling her curiously.

"Oh, so if red is for angry, what does yellow stand for?"

"I guess it's because she likes it," Levy stated sneakily.

He grinned.

"I told you you would."

"Guess you were right." Lucy smiled at him.

He smiled back at her and took her by the hand.

"Come on, let's show Happy."

Before she could even say good-bye to her new acquaintances, he led her towards a room named "The Fishing Point". Lucy wondered one moment how could a fishing point be placed on a third floor, but then she remembered that nothing in this factory was logical. She shrugged her shouders.

"Hi Lucy! Coming for fish?" Happy exclaimed suddenly, appearing out of nowhere.

She shrieked. But then, what she saw made her forget about him.

Amazed, she gaped at the spectacle in front of her. Here was a cute pond with real ducks. Looking into the water, she could see actual fishes with every imaginable colours and shapes. She could smell the delicate perfume of the grass and hear the peaceful flow of the water. With all these atmosphere, she felt at peace. She sat in front of the water, closing her eyes, whereas Natsu was explaining to Happy about his new invention.

But then came remorse: she had no right of being happy. She was at fault for her friends' abductions. If only she...

"Hey, Lucy. Why the blue?" Natsu panicked, shaking his hands in front of her. "Are you sick? If then, you better not approach me, I don't think your weirdness would be good in me..."

"No! Don't give him your sickness, Lucy, I beg of you!" Happy cried.

She shook her head. He came closer, concerned.

She didn't react. He sighed and relaxed a little more. Happy decided it wasn't that important and came to see the fish. Only Natsu sat by her side. He looked at her a long time, then said, scratching his head.

"When I first came in the factory, this spot didn't even exist. Igneel made it for me. I used to tell him about my dad and I going fishing..."

He stopped. Lucy raised her head.

"Your dad? Hadn't your parents come with you when you moved in the factory?" She asked, surprised.

"Well, they did."

"Then why?"

He fidgeted his fingers. "It's my fault. It was me that turned my grandpa into a cat."

She stared. "You did?"

"He was becoming weaker and weaker. This was the only way..." He lowered his head.

She kept silence, letting him continue.

"We had a big quarrel. They told me to let go. I... couldn't. "

He raised his head, seeming to live again what happened. " And then, one day, they were gone... Not a word. I try to find them, but it was like they disappeared in the air..."

She put her hand on his shoulder. He turned towards her, attempting to smile.

"Well, now you know some of my crappy backstory."

She smiled at him warmly.

"You know, I actually prefer when you have your hair yellow. That means you are happy." He stated, grinning for real that time.

She stopped. Well, that was cute. He was cute. Wait, what?

"Hey, your hair is pink..." he stated with a curious smile. "What does it mean?"

"I don't know," She lied, embarrassed. "Maybe it is because I'm trying not to laugh at you."

"Hey, that's sneaky!" Natsu protested. "And now, it's brown! What have you thought, again?"

"Can't help it!" She laughed.

Now, it was back to yellow.

Natsu laughed too. He was weird. They looked weird. Maybe Lucy was rubbing a little too much on Natsu... Happy stared wide-eyed. That was it! This little vixen was going to give her disease to his grandson!

Horrified with his discovery, Happy stood back. That shouldn't be happening! The world was _soo_ going to fall apart! He had to do something against it. But what could a little cat do against a giant weirdo?

Maybe distract the monster.

"Hey Lucy!" He began. "I think I've seen Lisanna look for you at the Squirrels' room. Said she had some new clothes to give you."

Said-girl's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure? Why that room?"

"Oh, come on Lucy, don't be so suspicious, " Natsu added with a smile. "It's Happy!"

Indeed. It's HAPPY.

"She said it was faster that way. If you don't want it, she throws it."

"Makes sense," Natsu commented.

"And I think there are shoes too," Happy added with a smirk.

Suddenly, Lucy's sense of economy awakened. Throwing clothes and shoes to the bin? And what about these poor orphans that don't have any clothes left? She had to go, for their sake.

But then, some scruples came to her. She gazed at Natsu. He smiled reassuringly.

"Go. Your boss commands it."

She smiled back.

So, after waving good-bye to Natsu and Happy, she set out of the place, took several stairs and ran towards the room in question. But when she entered, she realised why she was suspicious at first.

The room was empty and dark, excepted for the, well, damn squirrels.

They sniffed at her, and Lucy had the impression that they recognized her, for they all gathered around her. They were quite a huge number... She was beginning to be afraid. But being afraid didn't do anything to change what was going to happen to her.

They made her fall despite her loud protest and threw her to the bin.

 _Once again._

The damn cat was going to pay.

She would strangle him.

No. Too easy.

She would force him to eat candies until he explodes.

That was more satisfying.

But still not enough!

She would have still continued in that way, hadn't she actually felt some tissu falling on her head, preventing her to see what was happening. She felt that someone was holding her (like a sack of potatoes! What a jerk! Whoever it was...). Then, she heard a shrieking voice.

"Do not fear, dear maiden with scarlet hair, for thou are saved now!"

Damn, she was abducted. _Once again._ How was it even possible?

Why was fate hating her that much?

...

 **Let me know what you think :) The next chapter will be named "Troubles in Paradise"**

 **See you!**


	11. Troubles in Paradise

**Hi!**

 **Thanks to those who followed and/or favourite it: LavenderMoonRose, Dragonmomma1974, Loki921, NaluNom, Orange Keys 25, faith heart, zooeyandwincy, Johnny Spectre, Lyonsgirl, KrispiKreme, SnowwySkyy, TheWolfThatRunsFree and . I really appreciate it!**

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 **Then, let's get back to business!**

Chapter 11: Troubles in Paradise

Being kidnapped wasn't so bad, Lucy figured. Despite the fact that she was still deprived of her sight and tied, she was well-treated, as her captor gave her food and drinks during all the travel and the car was comfy. There were some good songs too. But what was more interesting was that her captor (apparently, his name was Michel) was talkative. VERY talkative. Which was fun, in a way.

Then, she felt the car stopping and Michel leading her towards some place that smelt of strawberry and cream. There were a lot of noises too. Some were mechanical, others whispers (maybe some kind of workplace), but none indicated that people were surprised to see her here. Or maybe, they didn't care. Screw the bystander effect.

After several turns around and doors to open and close carefully, Michel stopped and she heard a voice. Hell, she didn't know whose voice it was, but it was really... _hot_. She hoped the one that owned it was as attractive as his voice sounded.

"Welcome home... Erza."

Her captor took the thing in her head off, giving her sight back. She blinked. Once. Twice.

In front of her sat the spitting image of the Prince Charming she always dreamt of. It was a handsome young man with blue hair (weird colour, but it suited him), a tatoo on his face (odd, but who cares? he's handsome anyway!) that only accentuated his brown eyes and classy clothes to complete the picture. _Damn_.

He was smirking. Lucy found she had seen him before, but she couldn't remember where. Maybe once upon a dream. Well, she wouldn't mind being saved by him... That would be a nice change.

Then, a bewildered expression took the place of the smirk.

"You're not Erza."

So much for being saved. Apparently, she was the wrong princess. Irritated and a bit disappointed, she said:

"Now you realize it?"

He ignored her and turned towards the one that kidnapped her. Now that she could see him, she realized that it was a scrawny little man with a HUGE moustache. He really looked pathetic. How could she have let herself be kidnapped by him? Damn, that was killing her self-esteem!

Michel waved his hands in front of him as if he was defending himself.

"That's not her? But you specifically asked for a..." He checked for the exact expression in some piece of paper that was buried in his pocket. "'red-haired beauty with dark chocolate in her eyes'! Chocolate in the eyes means brown eyes, right?"

"She's not even red-haired!"

"But I'm a beauty!" Lucy interrupted, smiling suddenly.

They stared at her. Then turned back to each other, continuing their argument. Lucy felt insulted.

"HEY!"

"See, now she's red-haired!" Her captor insisted.

"STILL NOT THE RIGHT ONE! WHERE ARE THE LOVELY FRECKLES?!" The handsome guy yelled.

"You didn't tell me there were freckles..." Michel protested.

"WASN'T IT OBVIOUS?!"

Okay, now, it was more than irritating. Lucy was pissed off.

"Hey, Prince Charming, would you mind just... TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

He turned towards her.

"Who are you?"

"Hey! I asked you first!" She protested

He stood up princely and glared at her.

"My name is Jellal Fernandez. And now, you're going to tell me who the hell you are."

Jellal Fernandez... As in the owner of the Tower of Paradise? THE famous factory that sold these excquisite pastries with strawberries in it? With that enticing slogan "Let us bring you to the seventh heaven"? Damn. Now, she knew where she had seen him. No way she was going to let him know her last name.

"The name's Lucy. I worked at the Dragneel factory. Apparently." She looked around. The room was large and well-decorated, with two main colours that were intertwined constantly: red and blue. How obvious. Erza was lucky.

"Nice place you've got there," She added.

"Tch. What are you?" Jellal asked, irritated. "What's wrong with your hair?"

"Hey! Don't ask me as if I was some weird animal!"

"Whatever." He scratched his head, sighing. "You weren't supposed to be here."

He returned to his throne, his head on his right hand as if it was hurting him. What was wrong with this guy?

"Why am I here?" She suddenly said.

"That, I can explain to thou!" Her captor intervened, smiling like a kid that was going to say the good answer to his teacher.

When it was all explained to her, Lucy couldn't help but ask.

"So... You mean to tell me you prepared a great plan for saving Erza consisting of making the Oompa Loompas bring her _somehow_ in the squirrel room, but totally forgot to show a photography of her to the one you ordered to catch her?"

"..."

'Why am I always surrounded by idiots?"

With his forehead still in his hand (wow, that must be some hard headache), Jellal used the other to wave at them.

"Just... Send her to the donjon." He turned towards Michel.

"Hey! You can't dispose of me like some kind of annoying dog! I am a human being, and as one, I demand respect!" Lucy yelled.

He ignored her and turned away from her. It pissed her off.

"What would Erza think of all this?"

He stopped, troubled. She smirked. She had hit a spot.

"You know her?"

"She wouldn't like you mistreating one of her best friends, would she?" She continued.

The poor guy was pale. Like a ghost.

"Maybe she would even _hate_ you for it..." She added sneakily.

Then he whispered mournfully, his head low towards the floor."Maybe it's for the best..."

Lucy raised an eyebrow. What was his problem? Then, she realized.

"No way! Don't tell me you've already been friend-zoned and tried to make her see you in another way?" She exclaimed. Then, continuing more quietly. "Though, I don't really understand why, you're quite sexy in a way..."

His eyes widened. "What?! "

"What? Didn't you know you were sexy?"She teased him.

"No, no, not that part! I'm not in THAT zone!" He protested.

"Then, you admit that you know you're sexy. Why the desperate air?". After a moment, she smirked. "Now, I know! You said you didn't like strawberry in front of her, right?"

This one thing by itself was a turn-off for Erza.

"Err... I kind of own a factory that uses mainly strawberries for its products. If I didn't like it, I would be screwed."

Well, it was kind of obvious now that he mentioned it.

"Right..." She figured. But then why?

Then, she remembered.

"Oh no..." She began, with shock in her face. "You're the one that rejected her because of her freckles?!"

"I HADN'T REJECTED HER!" He snapped.

"No. That must be a misunderstanding.. Because you so obviously like her!" She smirked. The guy was fun to tease. Not like that pink-haired idiot. Always making fun of HER, how could he?

"Enough! Send her to the bloody donjon!" With that yell, Lucy returned to reality.

"You can't send the truth away, Jellaaaaal!" Lucy cried.

"Yes, but I can lock it." He retorted, irritated.

Damn. Why every handsome boy she met was an asshole?

Now, she was in a dark room, all alone, with only her eyes to cry...

"Lucy?"

So much for all alone. Why was that traitor of a cat even here?

"I followed you and was kidnapped too. Duh."

"AS IF IT WAS OBVIOUS, YOU TRAITOR! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"I'm sorry, Lucy."

"What?" She calmed down immediately.

"Lucy, are you dumb? I say I'm sorry!"

"What a crappy way to apologize. Do you want to piss me off more?"

"SCARY!" He exclaimed.

Lucy sighed. "Anyway, why did you do that if you didn't set it all in purpose? Send me away?"

He looked away. "I was afraid..."

Surprised, she stared at him. "Afraid? Why that?"

"AFRAID THAT YOU MIGHT GIVE NATSU YOUR DISEASE!" Happy cried suddenly.

WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?"

He looked down. Lucy calmed herself. She had understood. She smiled.

"You really care for him, don't you?"

She patted him on the head as he retorted "Well, he's kind of my grandson.".

"Worry not. I will not infect him with my disease or even hurt him."

The plan was screwed from the beginning anyway. Why adding another drama in it?

He looked at her, then grinned.

"Then, you're really one of us, now!"

And with that, she was really tempted to cry. And laugh at the same time. Maybe she was weird, as they said. Or they already infected her with their madness...

She stopped in her thoughts and smirked. She had an idea.

"Hey Happy?"

"Yeah?"

"How about a little revenge?"

He smirked. "Sure, Lucy!"

"Let's drive them mad!"

And they _soo_ did. Poor Michel did not even dare to come to talk to them after that, bringing only food and water. It wasn't that they were extremely dirty (Happy was). But they were LOUD. And annoying. And talkative. And so sneaky. The nightmare of every captor.

The third day, Jellal came to them.

"Enough of it," He said.

"Hey? Not even a "good morning to you"? How rude!" Lucy protested.

"I talked with Dragneel about you," He continued as if she hadn't interrupted him."He wants you back. Both. Though I can't understand why."

"Hey!" Happy and Lucy cried.

But Jellal didn't seem to care. "Anyway. We will proceed to an exchange. Tomorrow. You two for Erza Scarlett..."

"The strawberry monster?" Happy interrupted , laughing out loud. "You realize you've been fooled, right?"

"NO I HAVEN'T!" Jellal protested. "Erza is the purest woman I've ever encountered. Her light shines so bright in the dark, like a lighthouse leads the lost ships to their harbour. Her hair... is so soft to the touch and its colour so beautifully intense... Her determined gaze is enticing and when she would..."

He stopped, lost in his thoughts. He really seemed to live it, his hands twitching as he talked and his eyes softened and glimmering. Happy and Lucy smirked.

"He looooves her!" Happy exclaimed sneakily.

Jellal's dream seemed to have stopped. Back to his hard reality.

"No, I CANNOT!" He cried, shaking his head.

"Oh yeah, he does!" Lucy continued with a smirk.

"I'm not allowed to!"

"Nonsense!" Both cat and girl replied.

"Dont listen to your brain, listen to your body! Your body knows what to do!" Happy shouted.

An awkward silence began, each of the protagonists looking at each others with wide eyes and mouths agape. Lucy turned towards Happy, not wanting to believe it.

"Just... What did you say?"

"I don't even know." The blue cat answered, shrugging his shoulders.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

Lucy and Happy stared flabbergasted at the blue-haired man who seemed to have lost it. His hands were on his ears and he looked like he was in extreme pain with his wide opened eyes and his tight jaw.

"I don't want to hear these voices..."

"Lucy..." Happy began.

"Yeah?"

"Not these voices again..."

"I'm crept out." Happy came closer to Lucy.

"Me too."

"TOO MANY VOICES!"

Then came the silence.

"Aaaaah..." Jellal sighed with a relieved smile. "Finally over."

Well, not really... Because Lucy and Happy, even afraid as hell, had still their voices.

.

 **I hoped you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think!**

 **Next chapter will be called "Setting you Free" and will (hopefully) be released tomorrow (which is my birthday, by the way :) ). So see you!**


	12. Setting You Free

**Hi!**

 **Thanks for reading and following and/or favouriting this story!**

 **BakaFanGirl: Thank you :)**

 **I hope you will enjoy this chapter!**

Chapter 12: Setting You Free

Today was the day. They were going home.

Well, this was almost that, Lucy corrected.

They were woken up early by a nervous Michel who barely told them a word for fear of being led on like the other times (his poor little heart wouldn't resist another deceit, he decided). They were then led to an even more nervous Jellal. This last one was spacing around, fidgeting his hands. His silence was heavy, and even Happy was stressed out just by seeing him.

"That guy makes me dizzy," The little grandcat commented, his head spinning around.

"Don't you dare throwing up on my shoes." Lucy warned him angrily.

"YOU ARE A MEANIE!" Happy cried.

"SHUT UP! TOO MUCH NOISES!" Jellal screamed, still not looking at them.

Happy and Lucy stared at each others and whispered. "Oh no. The monster awakened."

"What do you think that is, Lucy?" Happy asked, not so discretly.

"I don't know. He seems to hear voices, has a strong obsession about Erza, and look at that melancholic air! Could be some schizophrenia." Lucy answered in the same tone.

"Why not erotomania with all of that? His obsession for that monster is quite delirious and plus, he went as far as to kidnap us (well, maybe more you) just because he thought he was saving her."

"No way. If he was, he would believe that Erza loves him. Which would be better, I think, and maybe even true... Wait... How do you even know what is erotomania?" She looked at him with wide eyes.

He smirked. "Mira."

"Oh."

"I STILL HEAR VOICES!" He turned towards them, glaring.

"Aye sir!" Happy cried.

You know, pissing off a powerful man isn't very intelligent, especially when you've been kidnapped by him. But Lucy, not wanting to look afraid of him, didn't really think of the possible consequences. She snorted.

"Pathetic. How are you going to convince Erza to come with you in that state?"

He glared at her.

"I'll bring strawberry cake."

Oh. He knew her weaknesses. Clever. She couldn't help but be impressed.

The blue-haired man turned towards Michel and gave orders.

"Michel, give them the sweets."

Surprised, Lucy and Happy took absent-mindedly the little red and white candy that Michel were handing them. They closed their eyes in delight. It was light and with an exquisite flavour of strawberry. They moaned in pleasure. Then their eyes widened. Not a sound was coming from their mouths. They tried to talk. Nothing. _Damn_.

Jellal sighed in relief.

The jerk!

He snorted. "Don't look at me like that. It will stop in a few minutes. Just the time to come to the place of the exchange. I can't bear hearing your voices on the way."

Lucy scowled.

Happy seemed more accommodating. As long as he could do some grimaces, it was good for him.

Then, they went into a black van (what a cliché! Lucy thought), and our heroine had the time to realize that the employees of the factory seemed to be in some strange trance. Odd. Michel and some other dude blindfolded them and their wrists were tied. They didn't even try to fight back. What would be the use? They would be free soon! So, they let themselves be led.

After leaving the car, they walked a few minutes. There was not a noise, except for the sound of the wind. How poetic. Well, it would probably be more if she wasn't blindfolded, she thought bitterly.

Then, suddenly, they stopped. Lucy heard someone approach her. A guy, from his loud way od walking. He was close. She felt uncomfortable. She could feel his breath tickle her face. It was warm and smelt of chocolate.

"Mmm... I think I prefer them tied."

Natsu?

NATSU?!

 _The miserable one..._

Quickly, Lucy threw herself violently at him, making him fall under her weight. The tissue covering her eyes fell off, letting her see her pink-haired "boss" looking at her with wide eyes

"Hey! That hurts! What was that for?" Natsu whined.

"That was for acting like a S&M pervert!"Lucy exclaimed, getting up.

"And for coming to save us that late" She added on second thought.

"Natsu! You're here" Happy cried after Michel, out of pity, took the tissue off him.

"Happy! So nice to see you, grandpa!" Natsu grinned.

That lovely reunion was interrupted by Jellal, who sounded furious... and a little bit worried.

"Where is she?"

"Who? The monster?" Natsu scratched his head, as if he was trying to remember where he could have put a red-haired fury.

Jellal was trying hard too, this time not to lose his temper, as the situation didn't _exactly_ bring him satisfaction. But then, the pink-haired man smirked.

"She's coming!" He sure sounded sadistic when he said that.

Happy gulped. Lucy gulped. Jellal did too, but it wasn't for the same reason. For he had waited a long time for this moment.

And indeed, she appeared, tied and led by several Oompa Loompas. Some dark aura surrounded her as she glared determinedly in front of her. Her outfit was composed of a simple white shirt and a black skirt (quite usual, but still classy on her). Her hair was flowing with the wind (for they were outside, in some abandoned field, Lucy noticed). She looked terrific.

Lucy turned towards Jellal. His mouth was agape and, from the look in his eyes, he seemed _really_ turned on. Well, weren't they meant for each others? She smirked at the thought.

But then, he talked.

"Erza..."

Said-girl froze. Her mouth opened slightly, then began to tremble.

"Jellal..."

They looked at each others intensely, each of them communicating their emotions silently with their eyes. Surprise (from both), fondness (from Jellal's part), betrayal (Erza's), regret, confusion, sadness and most of all... longing.

"Hey!"

Natsu. _The damn cockblocker_. Lucy glared at him. She really wanted to watch their interactions more!

"We're here for a reason!" He continued, still on the floor and pouting.

Jellal looked away, troubled. "Right..."

Then, he stared at Natsu, determined. "Let's proceed to the exchange."

The latter smirked. "Mine first."

"No, mine!" Jellal protested.

"No, m..."

"SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU!" Erza and Lucy yelled at the same time.

The two young men stared at them incredulously. Then, Jellal attempted to approach the red-haired woman. He _had_ to convince her.

"Come with me, Erza. Together, we will build a new empire of strawberries and peace..."

"Why me?" Erza was struggling with her emotions. Bad luck, Jellal was too.

"I... You... I mean... Strawberry cake... I need... you?"

Why was he socially awkward all of a sudden? Even when they pissed him off, he was still eloquent! (despite the "I hear voices" thing). And why was it kind of familiar?

But maybe... It was the power of love! Lucy smiled wildly like a fan girl. She didn't realize that Natsu had got up and was staring at her like she was some strange bird.

"But... You said that.. my freckles... were disturbing you... " Erza continued, lowering her head.

"NO! I... Your freckles..."

".. You deserve better." Erza interrupted, her head down, fact that did not really hid the tears in her eyes.. "A pretty and simple girl, like Lucy... She would bring you happiness."

Oh, denial... That's so cute... Wait... Did she said her name? Lucy realized.

"But I don't want a simple girl, Erza..." Jellal protested.

"Hey! Do NOT insert me in your love story! And are you saying that I'm simple-minded?!"

Lucy's remark seemed to be ignored as Jellal was still _slightly_ struggling with his emotions, his hands twisting themselves as if he was preventing himself from making a move on the red-haired woman in front of him. Lucy really wanted to slap him. And then push him towards Erza. Put the two of them in some narrow place and let the magic take control of them. Of course, she would be the godmother of the result, whatever it was. She just hoped it wasn't strawberry cakes.

Lost in her thoughts, Lucy hadn't realised the discussion was still going on. But when she did, she couldn't help but watch it like some kind of serial.

"I want to set you free from your hatred, Erza! Together, we can run the market, I know it. Every thing that I've done, everything that I've said, it was all for this to come, for... you."

Said girl was still holding back tears, as every anime girl would do in front of that kind of situation. She was preparing a speech about friendship and loyalty that would have made the poor guy lower his head in shame and a tenseful silence would have prevailed. The scene would probably have gone this way, if it wasn"t for Lucy's irritated intervention.

"Oh shut up with all the drama! Just tell him you like her already! You know nothing, Jellal."

He turned towards her, bewildered. Then blinked.

"Who the hell are you?"

An awkward silence began. Then, Lucy declared, trying not to lose it.

"You're kidding, right?

"No."

"YOU ARE THE ONE THAT SENT THIS GUY TO KIDNAP ME, YOU JERK!" Lucy yelled, pointing to Michel who, since the beginning, was trying to hide behind a some well-placed rock.

Natsu stared, then turned towards Happy.

"I have no idea what's going on." He stated. "You?"

"Neither."

They stared at the scene in front of them.

"Let's leave them to their drama." Happy began.

"Yeah."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Lucy snapped at them.

They froze. Then turned towards each other, whispering.

"Damn. She must have some weirdo's senses to notice our leaving discretly."

"Yeah. She's not human."Happy answered with a smirk.

"You're right!"

"I can hear you, you know." Lucy stated, irritated.

"WEIRD!" Natsu and Happy cried.

"HEY! I'M NOT THE WEIRD ONE! YOU ARE!"

Thus began an intense debate about who was the weirdest of all, neither of them willing to back down. During that time, Erza and Jellal stood, flabbergasted.

"They have completely forgotten that we were here." Jellal began.

"Indeed." Then, Erza smiled softly.

"So, I guess all of this was useless."

"Kind of."

They stared at each others, then laughed. When they stopped, a new light was in their eyes.

"Let's leave them to their antics." Jellal smiled at her and hold out his hand.

"Yeah." She accepted.

After one awkward silence, Jellal continued, hesitantly.

"You know, I've always liked your freckles."

"Oh, shut up." But Erza was still smiling.

Some seconds passed, with Lucy and Natsu still arguing in the background and Happy keeping scores (it seemed that Lucy was winning).

"So... You said you had strawberry cake?" Erza began shyly.

Jellal smiled.

And both of them left, hand in hand. It was like they were leaving in the sunset. Sweet.

(Michel followed, of course. He didn't have anything else to do, after all).

After a few other minutes (more like half an hour), Natsu and Lucy finally found out that they were alone, Happy prefering to leave after realizing it was fishing time.

"WHERE THE HECK ARE THEY?"

...

 **I hope you enjoyed it :)**

 **Next chapter will be called "One of Them".**


	13. One of Them

**Hi!**

 **Thanks for following and/or favoriting it!**

 **jallo: Thank you :) I'm glad you liked it!**

 **NaluNom: Well, if that can reassure you, I won't be updating that often by now :D (maybe once or twice a week). So, you will have time to catch up!**

 **I will have a lot of things to do for... I'm going to Sicily next month! (which means a lot of preparing to do and trying to learn some basics in Italian ; on a less bright note, less time for writing, but that won't stop me! I have everything planned :) )**

 **I hope you will enjoy it!**

Chapter 13: One of Them

"We're lost, aren't we?

They were walking randomly since half an hour and, still, there was no sign of getting out of this bloody field. Lucy was tired and _slightly_ irritated (for once). Natsu was silent and grave. The two mixed together sure were not great, for the lack of reaction of the boy only aggravated more the girl's mood. She was sure going to explode at any moment.

Yet, everything had been alright when they met for the exchange (well, almost). He was still the same goofy (and annoying) guy she knew and she was still irritable. They argued for some stupid reason and the two almost-lovers-but-not-yet-otherwise-it-would-be-too-easy took advantage of it and eloped quietly (she hoped that when she saw them again, there would be some babies on the run). Happy had left too (does that meant HE knew the way out? Then why didn't he leave earlier? Lucy wondered). With him gone, gone was also the cheery atmosphere. Natsu shut his mouth and hadn't opened it since. This. Was. Awkward.

And she didn't like it. At. All.

Not even one bit.

...

Well, okay, to be honest, she liked it the first minutes, for the man was always quite loud and very annoying. A little silence after the storm was always quite enjoyable, don't you think? It was only human to wish it! But now, it was too much. What was his problem?

And, most of all, what should she do? Well, there was only one way!

"Hey! What's your problem?" She asked to his back.

Not so subtle, but it wasn't the time to be subtle.

He stopped. His shoulders shooked angrily. Oh no. He was pissed off. But why would he?

She was about to retort when he seemed to calm down by himself.

Weird.

Okay, maybe she had to use a more subtle approach finally. But it would be kind of unusual for her. Sure, she had tried it to get bargains (which, to her deepest regret, did not quite work the way she wanted it to) but never to get information out of a stubborn person. And what if he actually believe she was trying to seduce him? She would have to indicate him that he was in the wrong! But what if he was insistant? A pervert (after all, he had already seen her naked? Lucy was beginning to be worried.

But then, she realized. Who was she kidding? It was Natsu _freaking_ Dragneel she was talking about!

She stared at him. Then let out an irritated "Tsk". No way she was going to leave it like that.

Smirking, she came closer to him and put slowly her right arm around his shoulders. He jumped. Perfect. At least he noticed her. (On a less bright note, she was beginning to be quite uncomfortable. Well, that was not every day she was THIS close to a member of the opposite sex. Well, of any sex by the way). But wait, was it a blush on his cheeks? Oh cute!

But why were his cheeks swollen, by the way?

Anyway, she had still things to do. She leaned towards his ear.

"So, dearrr Natsu," she purred. "Mind to tell me what is going on in that lovely head of yourrrrs?"

And with that, the jerk did the unthinkable.

He _laughed._

"OH YOU DAMN... Humph!" Infuriated, she pushed him. Rather brutally.

But that did not stop him. He was still literally laughing his arse off. She crossed her arms and tapped her right foot angrily.

"Geez, you're weird." He said after calming down.

She sighed irritably. "Oh, so now you can talk! You should change your insults by the way. It's getting old."

But he had already turned away. And continued his way.

"Hey! Don't you dare ignoring me!" She yelled.

But he did anyway. So, after a few irritating attempts to pester him (which at some times made her think she was succeeding in pissing him off, but to her regret, he wasn't), she abandoned the idea of driving him crazy and followed him silently, albeit with some loud and long sighs.

Then, she saw it. The great glass elevator. The one that could go up and down, right and left and fly around. That crazy thing. What was it doing here? Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen it since her first time at the factory. She only used stairs.

He entered it and turned towards her (finally! She thought) and gave her the sign of doing the same. She humphed, but did it anyway. What had she to lose, anyway?

But then, she recognized where they were heading to. She gasped.

It was the direction of her building.

He turned towards her with a serious look.

"Do you still want to bring us down?"

"What?" She stared at him, flabbergasted.

"With Erza Scarlett. Gray Fullbuster. Phantom Lord..." He listed, counted with his fingers.

Gray... She still had no clue where he was. All of the team had been separated suddenly. How could she even think of doing any plan?

"How do you know about it?" She asked, surprised. "When..."

"Always knew it." He interrupted."You're not very talented as a spy."

He was saying it as if it was a matter of fact.

"Hey! Stop insulting me!" She protested.

Then, she added, more quietly. "But if you knew, then why..."

Why did he let her become the taster? With that job, she had access to informations about the recipes, now that she thought about it. The perfect place for a spy...

"Stop asking stupid questions," he interrupted, his arms crossed.

Of course. It was a game. And now, he had enough of playing with her and decided he wanted her out.

She could not even blame him for that.

He looked away. She stared in the same direction with apprehension. It was her window. Wide open.

"It's simple. Either you return to your former life and do whatever the hell you want with the information you have, or you can come back to the factory and leave that stupid idea of revenge behind you. It's your choice."

He was really dead serious. Weird.

She gazed at the window. Then at him. The window again. Now, she knew what she had to do. The choice was that evident that she wanted to laugh.

She entered her appartment.

She looked around quickly. Just like it was before. Not an object was out of place.

Wait...

Weird. No sign of her dog. Where was he?

Well, no time for worrying about that. He was always quite a runaway. So perhaps with a little girlfriend of his. Or another mistress. Maybe it was for the best. She shrugged. No time for cheaters, she thought. Then, she headed towards her desk.

There they were. Her letters to her mother. She embraced it with a smile.

Then, she heard it. He was leaving.

"Hey! Don't you dare forget me in there!" She yelled at him, running towards her window.

Slowly, he turned back and looked at her.

"You want to come back?." He seemed surprised. That was insulting!

"Have I really a choice?" She sighed dramatically. "Can't let Levy get kidnapped all alone once again!"

Then, she smiled. He grinned back and help her enter the elevator.

"So, for Levy's sake, right?" He asked, smiling.

"Of course!" Se smirked.

Then, she held her hand towards him. "Let's start again, shall we? No tricks?"

"Right! No more tricks." And then, he hugged her.

At first, she was shocked, but found out it was quite comfortable. He was warm and smelt good (well, chocolate is always irresistible, even with a hint of smoke on it. Well, maybe it was even better with it). She hugged him back, with her precious letters still under her arm. Then, they broke it, smiling at each other. Natsu closed the elevator and pushed the button with the label "home" on it.

"You know," he began. "You could have just told me to wait."

"That would not have been funny," she teased him. "And what's with the cold shoulder during the way? Were you worried that I might actually leave?"

"Well, you had me doubting for some moments..." He scratched his head.

"How cute! I didn't know you cared so much!" Her smirk widened.

"Oh, shut up." He said, smiling slightly.

Then, without her noticing it, they were back in the factory.

"Come on!" He said joyfully, opening the doors. "The others are waiting for you."

She smiled and went with him.

At first, there was nothing. The room was dark and silent. Then, the lights came, and with that the cries of happiness.

"WELCOME HOME LUCY!"

It was cliché, so overused in movies, mangas and books... It was even THAT overrated and sappy that it was very previsible. But at that moment, she could not help not to care. It felt so good to have been waited.

But then, suddenly, she was attacked.

... By Levy?

The blue-haired girl hugged her tightly.

"You did it! I knew it! You chose us!"

Lucy's eyes widened in realization. Then softened.

"Well, couldn't leave you in this mess."

She could feel her friend smiled and it made her do the same. She hugged her back.

Such a sweet moment between two friends (best friends soon)! Of course, someone had to interrupt it.

"Okay, enough for the softies!" Cana yelled, hands on her hips. "BRING OUT THE BOOZE!"

"YEAAAH!"

And then, the party began. It was loud and rambunctious, full of laughters, music and joyful discussions. Mira and Lisanna were serving the drinks, Cana had already found one barrel and was stuck to it and Happy...

Wait... where was Happy? She hadn't seen him since the exchange. Was he still lost somewhere?

She looked around, then stopped when she saw a little blue furball coming in a very fast way towards them.

"Hey! Don't forget about me!" The little grandcat whined, indignant. "Where's my fish?"

She laughed at it. With them. And in a moment of pure contemplation, she realized suddenly.

They said she was one of them now.

And she actually began to believe it.

...

...

 **I hope you enjoyed it :) Let me know what you think about it!**

 **Next chapter will be called "What's Self-Preservation anyway?"**

 **See you!**


	14. What is Self-Preservation, Anyway?

**Hi!**

 **Thanks again (and again, and again, and again) for reading and following and/or favoriting this! If that interests you, I will write on my profile where I am with the next chapter, so you can have an idea when I will be updating :)**

 **By the way, I changed the title of the chapter because I decided to put one scene on a later one, so it wasn't really fitting.**

 **NaluNom: Well, I hope you get well soon! Thanks for your review, I'm glad you liked it :)**

 **That settled, let's get back to business!**

Chapter 14: What's Self-Preservation, anyway?

Lucy had never been one to wake up late. She was more the "seize the day by waking up early" kind of girl. Well, her education incited her to do so, for businesses were to be concluded from early in the morning until late at night. Even when she had drunk a lot in the evening, which wasn't very often, she would wake up at dawn, fresh and ready for battle (not that she was one to fight litterally, she prefered to let it to Erza).

But today, it had not worked that way. How she wished it had been!

Instead, here she was, with a hellish headache, dry throat and the irresistible temptation to throw up every litle thing she could have eaten. All was absolutely well and just fiine (note the irony). But at least she was in her room.

Wait.. How did she even get in there? Last things she knew, there was some drinking contest between Cana and Ever, Levy was joyfully scolding her two companions and she was on the hunt for some squirrels. Had she ever succeeded in that mission? She wondered.

...

Nope, she decided. She would have brought one of the corpses' tail with her as a trophy, had it been the case (far away, someone working for the protection of the animal caught a very bad cold at that moment).

But one thing she was aware for sure was that she did not ever want to leave that bed (and its pillow) ever again. Call her clinophiliac, but she knew it. She had finally found true love.

Comfy, smelling good, not very talkative, but so easy to cuddle... The perfect match!

"Mrrrrrr"

Wait... Did it suddenly purred?

She opened one eye suspiciously. Then the other. Her right hand gripped tightly her blanket, but most of all the huge bump it was forming. She took the blanket off abruptly, revealing...

"Yo, Lucy!" The pink-haired bastard waved at her with one eye closed.

"GET OUT, YOU CREEP!" She shrieked, pushing him.

He yawned. What the hell?

"WHY ARE YOU HERE?" She continued in the same tone.

Then, she moaned, her forehead on her hands. Her head was hurting so much!

"So loud and pushy in the morning, Lucy... Can't you give it a little rest?" He mumbled sleepily, raising up slowly.

"OH YOU..."

"Natssssuuuuu!"

Oh no. In the Incredibly Annoying family, I demand the grandson! Not enough? Here's the sneaky grandpa turned blue cat!

Had she not been in extreme pain, Lucy would have laughed at it, as it was completely ridiculous.

"Already dawn?" Natsu stretched himself, as if everything was normal.

That was too much to be true. This could not be another thing than a nightmare. Hopefully.

So she did what every normal person would have done at her place. She hid behind her pillow.

Then, she felt a hand shaking vigourously her hips.

"Come on, Lucy, time to go to work!"

Okay, it was not a nightmare. She sobered up quicky and opened her eyes. And with a speed she didn't knew she possessed, she caught his hand and squeezed it strongly. He winced.

"Don't you dare sneaking into MY room AND into MY bed like a creepy pervert!"

"That's mean, Lucy!" He whined. "And here I thought we were friends! And your bed is so comfy..."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Friends don't do that. And it's your factory, you can buy the same bed and leave me alone with mine."

He grinned. "Well, as you say, it's my factory. So technically, it's my bed too."

Her eyes and mouth widened in shock."What?"

He nodded eagerly. "Yes, that's it!"

She was about to explode, but then, she suddenly calmed down. And smirked.

"Well, you give it to me the day you decided to employ me... So finders keepers, loosers whiners!"

"Hey! That's not fair!"

"You know what's not fair, Natsu?" Lucy blinked innocently her eyes. "Sexual harrassment... I really think that the judges would be in my side when I tell them what happened..."

"What?"

She nodded eagerly. "Yes, that's it!"

"How is that sexual harrassment?! I'm barely touching you!" Natsu protested.

"Oh, but my pure mind is surely beginning to be corrupted by what you _did_ , what you _do_ and what you _can_ do" She sing-songed innocently.

"YOU ARE THE DEVIL IN DISGUISE!" He whined loudly.

Happy was preventing himself from laughing by putting his paw on his mouth. "Oho... You're bickering like an old couple..." (after a moment, he added lowly "and it's not funny to joke about sexual harrassment, by the way...")

"Shut it, grandcat!" Lucy yelled.

Well, after that rather embarrassing scene, Natsu disappeared suddenly, bringing his grandpa with him much to Lucy's relief. After one little shower, some brushing and everything that came with it, she had only one thing to do now.

Work.

She entered the tasting room, preparing herself for the worst.

And she really began to feel it when she saw in the table a green, snake-shaped sweet next to a small paper with Natsu's signature in it.

She took the little thing in the hand, looking at it suspiciously.

That would have lasted a long time, hadn't someone suddenly called her from behind.

Levy... Her savior!

"Hey Lucy... What happened between you and Natsu yesterday?" Levy asked sneakily.

"What?" Said-girl widened her eyes.

Forget what she just thought. So much for saving... And what's with the weird and straight-forward question?

"Well," She continued with a secretive smile. "I heard that he brought you back to your room after you filled the squirrel room with catnip..."

"I did that?"

"Well, among all the things..."

"Among all the things?" Lucy worried. "WHAT HAD I DONE LAST NIGHT?"

"Don't worry, don't worry" Levy answered, waving her hands nervously.

"HOW CAN I NOT?" She protested.

"Anyway..." Levy waved nonchalantly her hand. "Let's focus on something _much_ more interesting.."

"Roooooh..." Lucy sat and shook her head, her hands on her forehead. "How the hell is this interesting?"

"Well," The blue-haired Oompa Loompa continued with a teasing tone. "It's not every day you see Natsu carrying a giggling girl like a newlywed bride..."

"Oh nooo.." Lucy whined lamentably. "How could it be worse?"

"You tell me..." Levy wriggled her eyebrows.

She sighed irritably. "I don't know. When I woke up, he was sleeping next to me..."

"Oho!" Levy snickered. "Sounds hot..."

"Geez, That's not what you think. We both had clothes on, and that jerk was buried under my sheets..."

"How cute!" Levy smirked. "I'm sure Mira and Lisanna would love to know this..."

"I don't see why they would like to know how much Natsu is a pervert completely ignoring the meaning of property..." Lucy signed, tired already. "They must know it already..."

"Oh, I think they'd like to know that our Natsu finally got THAT close to a girl..."

Lucy was about to retort, but when she turned back, Levy had already left. Sneaky Oompa Loompa, leaving like some malicious character after some crucial informations in a movie. How the hell was that crucial, by the way? From his behavior, that guy must sleep on every bed, whether there are boys or girls in it!

That thought made her laugh a lot, but it had the unfortunate effect of increasing her headache. Furthermore, there was still that suspicious sweet (not that the others were not suspicious at all) she had to test.

...

...

Better read the paper before eating that, she thought.

So she did.

.

 _Eat it and have a nice day,_

 _Natsu._

.

Yeah, very nice, Lucy laughed humorlessly. This was _so not_ going to end well, for her.

She sighed.

But the job needed to be done. So she took the sweet, closed her eyes and eat it.

...

...

Nothing.

She blinked, bewildered.

To the contrary, she felt... better...

Her headache was gone, replaced with an enjoyable feeling of lightness.

Then, a thought came to her. Had he really done it on purpose?

She took the paper once again, reading once again the five words on it.

He actually noticed she was in pain... How sweet...

She smiled softly. Maybe he wasn't kidding when he said there will be no tricks anymore...

But before she could develop more that thought, a terrible roar was heard, sending vibrations to every wall in the factory.

Her blood ran cold.

What was that?!

She never heard such roar from any animal she could have seen (and she had seen many!). It must be huge, she thought. And not very friendly, from the sound of it. Shivers came down her spine.

Of course, any normal person would have tried to go as far away as he or she could from the terrible roar, as it sounded so much like a predator. Instinct of self-preservation, they call that. Maybe she would have done just that on a _normal_ day, but it seemed that encountering that much oddities in one place made our poor heroine quite lacking that quality. She got out of the room and headed towards the origin of the roar.

Just as she was about to open one door, someone beat her to this. Which meant she was hit in the face by the damn heavy wooden plank. Hard.

"Ouch! WHO THE HELL..." Lucy began, yelling.

But she did not even had time to finish her sentence, as the one that had opened it was already running away. She only had time to notice wavy brown hair and an incredible smell of wine.

Cana?

She hesitated. Going after her or see by herself what was happening behind the door? The first choice was certainly the smartest, because the less dangerous.

She opened the door.

"WHERE IS MY BAT? GIVE IT TO ME!"

She froze. In front of her was the tallest man Lucy had ever seen. And the most frightening too. His brown hair seemed to follow his mood of the moment as they were moving angrily (She wondered how, for there wasn't any wind in there). He was surrounded by a little group of Oompa Loompas holding red bats.

"What the hell is going on..." She mumbled, preparing herself to leave.

"Ah, Lucy!"

It was Levy waving at her. Discretly, the little one came to her with a smile. Obviously lost by the scene, Lucy asked her who the man was (and especially, _what the hell_ he was doing in there).

Levy laughed. "Him? It's Gildarts, our official explorator. He just came back from a mission."

Lucy released a breath she didn't know she was holding. Okay, so he was not an enemy. Cool, actually, she thought. Better have him by your side than against you (that was finally her instinct of preservation awakening).

"Well, it seems that he had done it again..."

Lucy turned towards her friend, confused.

"Who's..."

But a loud and masculine voice answered her instead of her blue-haired friend.

"That bloody dragon again..." Said-man groaned, exasperated.

Lucy stared, flabbergasted. Then realized.

"A what?" She shrieked.

The thought had never once crossed Lucy's mind, but now that she thought of it...

A dragon.

 _Dragon_...

As in, the huge lizard from fairy tales?

The one that could easily burn down to a crisps every city that crossed him?

Or that guarded the sleeping princess like a creep, devoring every prince that had tried to save her? Wait... now that she remember it, the version she had read of the tale was quite pervy and made the prince looked more like a bad guy...

But back to the subject!

 _That_ monster?

It existed?

HOW WAS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?

"LET'S SLAY HIM, COMRADES!" was Gildarts' cry of war. (followed by shrieking ones "SLAY THE BEAST! SLAY THE BEAST!")

NO FREAKING WAY, Lucy thought.

But she was dragged to it anyway. _Damn_.

...

...

 **Well, I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Next chapter will be called "Who let the Dragon Out?"**


	15. Who Lets the Dragon Out?

Chapter 15: Who lets the Dragon out?

In the numerous stories she could have read during her young years, Lucy had encountered many mysterious creatures, some with big teeth and piercing eyes, others with horns and tails. Sometimes with all of these characteristics altogether. Whether they were monsters or adorable companions for the hero (most of the time heroine), she could not help but falling in love with them instantly. And each time our heroine found herself infatuated with a fictional creature, she had to make it a reality. And by reality, she meant... cuddly toys. She had tons of them. Fairies, demons, lions, lynx, cerberuses, bears, pegasuses, tigers, bats, leprechauns, snakes, squirrels... All of them had pride of place on her bed, on the wardrobe, on her desk... Well, you understood it, she put them wherever she could.

But of course, to all of that, there was an exception (if you don't count rabbits, which, of course weren't even worth mentioning it as it was so obvious). _Dragons_. Why, would you ask?

If you asked a shrink (if he or she was fond on psychoanalysis, of course) about it, he or she would tell you that dragons were greedy, and so was she. Facing a monstrous version of herself would have endangered her Ego ideal and caused her profond melancholy and self-loathing. So it was only self preservation. If you asked Lucy personnally, she would have told you that dragons were total jerks to the princess and the prince. Plus, it was a pervert (why the hell would he guard a princess, if this was not the case?).

After the incident at the factory, the cuddly toys were sold, so she decided to get other interests. Fairy tales did not really hold her attention as she had resigned herself to the idea that childhood was over. So she tried to read what she thought adults read. Newspapers. Some were utterly boring, others contained traumatic informations, but she sometimes found pleasure in knowing that one person adopted a goat, or that a child had been saved by a family of gorillas. There was no fairy, no other fantastic creature, but it was bearable.

When she hit puberty, she discovered chick lit. She allowed herself a bit of fantasy (for, who would want to read the story of a girl that fell in love with her sadistic boss?) again in her readings. Fairy tales were back once again. And the dragons appeared again, more perverted than ever. But she didn't mind, as long as the wise and pure princess ended up with some charming (and sexy as hell) prince, and that there were some magic tricks (she was quite fond of it).

Then, she discovered _the Iron Throne_. All of the composants of good fairy tales without the apology of a passive woman, with twisted plots and even more twisted characters. And her life changed... Well, only a bit. She even considered liking dragons.

So, it was kind of okay for her to encounter any flying and lizard-like creature in fiction. But _in reality_...

"Just... what the hell is a dragon doing here? IN A FREAKING CHOCOLATE FACTORY?"

"Well, Igneel helps bringing the chocolate to a perfect temperature," Natsu stated, suddenly appearing out of nowhere in the room, arms crossed.

If it had happened three months ago, she would have been crept out by the sneaky presence of this pink-haired boy (well, more of a man, now) by her side. But now, she couldn't help not to care.

It's funny how one human being can resign oneself that fast when in a tricky situation.

"You say that as if it was obvious..." Lucy sighed. "And why are you bringing Igneel Dragneel into this?"

He turned towards her with wide eyes. "Well, isn't it? You're weird, Lucy. Igneel is the dragon."

She sighed once more. Then smiled in a tired way.

"Don't tell me you did it again..."

He turned towards her, not seeming to understand what she was saying. "What?"

"Turn him into a dragon. Like Happy. Was it because you were afraid of him dying too?"

"Nope, he did it on his own."

"Oh."

"Do you want to meet him?"

"Not really."

But he didn't listen. Instead, he took her hand and ran towards the direction Gildarts had left earlier with his bat.

Once again, a few months ago, if a shady guy, even handsome as he was (wait... had she just considered Natsu as handsome? How can it... Well, back to the subject), had ever touched her hand and tried to lead her in some place, she would have kicked him to the next century, and then took a picture of him with _his_ phone. To make him remember. But not only it wasn't the first time it happened, but she found herself not minding it. At all.

She was even a little bit disappointed when his hand left her. He looked at her, grinning, and indicated her to direct her attention in front of them.

A cave. A freaking. Dark. Cave. How was that ever po-

Well, she had asked herself that question too much.

But, before she could really focus on other things, Natsu pushed her in it.

"Good luck, Lucy!" Natsu winked with a smirk and blocked it with some stone (the god of the Oompas Loompas only knew where he had found it).

"Hey! DON'T YOU DARE SENTENCE ME TO SOME GRUESOME DEATH BY BEING EATEN BY SOME CREEPY OVERSIZED LIZARD!" She yelled.

But no one answered her call. She was all alone, in the dark, with one of the most dangerous creatures the authors of all the fairy tales had ever imagined. Despite that, all was well in the best of the worlds.

She was going to die _slowly_ and _painfully_.

Who was she kidding, of course she was pissed!

But... some said that it's in the most tricky situations that we discover who we really are in the inside. Most of the time, it only showed to Lucy that she was a scared little girl who kept running from litterally _everything_. And the picture was not pleasant at all.

However, it wasn't like one of these times. This time, she had decided to be brave. Suddenly.

So she looked up and stared.

...

Nothing. But a groan. She looked down.

A Komodo Dragon. That Igneel Dragneel was a damn Komodo dragon.

With several bumps, by the way... Gildarts's gift, perhaps?

She stared at him, then laughed.

"Hey, what did you expect?" the scaly creature smirked.

"Well, an almighty fire-breather dragon. I thought that if something that incredible could happen, it would be be here. To be honest, I'm kind of disappointed..."

He grumbled. Or was that a laugh?

She narrowed her eyes at the snarky dragon.

Yes, definitely a laugh. Damn. Even a ten-feet lizard mocked her. _Great._

"That's an idea!"

"Wait! I wasn't serious!"

"But I was. Anyway, let me sniff you."

"Err... what?"

"You're weird and shady. I need to verify you're legit."

"Why does everyone in this factory think that when I seem to be the only normal person here?!" She whined.

During that time, he had approached her and, to her utter disgust, was sniffing her loudly.

"With an obvious problem with greediness, if I remember well, nut girl. Maybe that's why." He said after that.

"Geez. Again wih the nut nickname. I haven't even talked to my father _in years_."

"Have you? How sad. "

"Spare me your pity."

"You would confuse pity with concern. You're family, now."

"Ah? How so?"

"Natsu had led you to me. And, from what I've heart, most of the Oompas Loompas had already accepted you as one of their own..."

"Wow, I feel so honoured."

"You should be. You have to understand, little girl, that we don't open up easily. Past experiences never convinced us to do so. "

"But if you're so secretive about your things and build a wall to hide them, don't you think more people will be tempted to see what is going on behind it?"

His eyes widened. "I HAVEN'T THOUGHT ABOUT IT!"

She rolled her eyes. "You don't say."

"Anyway, let's change the subject," She continued. "If you aren't a real fire-breathing dragon.. How the hell can you bring the chocolate to the perfect temperature? What's your purpose, by the way? Komodo dragons don't even have superior senses! They're rather lame, by the way."

"Sssh! Don't tell Natsu about it. He thinks I have."

"Then, why did you do that?"

"Well, it has its advantages..." He said with a pervy smile, looking her up and down. "It helps to know for example that you like your shower really hot..."

"WHAT? HOW?"

"God thanks the pipes" He sighed, eyes closed and satisfying smile on his face.

"Geez. I always knew dragons were total perverts."

"Well, an old man like me needs some entertainments..."

"NOT AT MY EXPANSE!"

He attempted another laugh and sighed.

"Then, I think we're done there..."

She gaped at him.

"Already? That's all? Not a snarky remark? Not some mysterious sentences that only mean I will be screwed later?"

He smirked. Scary.

"Nah, I'm too old and wise for that. Natsu, on the other hand..."

"Don't ever tell me..." She sighed.

"By the way... Thank you Lucy."

She widened her eyes.

"Hum? What for?"

He smiled softly (well, as much as a Komodo dragon can smile softly).

"You'll see."

Lucy blinked, bewildered. But the dragon was already gone.

What had happened exactly?

And, more important...

"How do I even get out of this?"

"By the exit, weirdo!"

And suddenly a twinkling sign was turned on, and she realized she never had been trapped from the start. Great, really _great_.

Remember when she thought she was fond of magic tricks? Just... Forget that. Magic tricks were for jerks. Jerks like that _freaking_ Natsu Dragneel.

And his dog.

Wait... His dog?

"Plue?"

The white pitbull barked joyfully.

"I... have your dog." Natsu stuttered, the dog in his arms.

"You don't say... Why is he with you, of all the places?"

"Well... in fact, he was in my room..."

He scratched his head, as if he was on such a tricky situation that he just wanted to get out of there.

"So... You mean to tell me since all this time, you had my Plue with you, in your room, and you didn't want anyone to know this fact?" She began calmly, but as she talked, her tone was more and more... dangerous.

Not that Natsu actually noticed it. He was more focused on one shocking fact.

"Plue?" He repeated with a grimace.

"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO MY DOG, YOU... YOU... Freaking dognapper!"

"Geez, why do you have to be always that unpleasant? I just tried to help you!"

"By taking my dog from me? Oh, that's so nice of you!" She scowled, crossing her arms.

"Of course it is!" He continued, not seeming to understand her sarcasm. "If I wasn't, I would have never told you that the strawberry monster is screaming for you in the entrance!" and he mumbled, embarrassed. "And I wanted to give him to you anyway after your return, so what's the problem?"

...

She stared at him.

"NOW YOU TELL ME?"

Thirty minutes after that, she was running towards the entrance as if her life depended on it. Natsu was following, certainly wondering why he was doing so because suddenly he decided to stop and to do something else on the shadows. Plue, at that exact moment had already disappeared in some place where there was fish and greenery (to be clear, he was led to the fishing room by Happy, who just happened to pass by).

Anyway, let's get back to Lucy. Our heroine just saw her red-haired friend after being kidnapped then exchanged by her not-officially-but-soon-to-be husband (let's skip the boyfriend part). And only one question was on her mind.

"Shouldn't you be on honeymoon already?"

"What?"

Well, after the magic tricks, then come the romance, right? That's what she thought.

And boy, was she wrong when she saw Erza's face lower in guilt and sadness.

Because what her friend had to say was not what she wanted to hear. Even if she had expected it.

And now, she heard it, but she couldn't understand it. She felt paralyzed and helpless.

"I'm sorry Lucy. I know you've become quite attached to the factory. But it can't be stopped now."

Lucy began to shook.

"But why?" Her voice was shaking too. "I thought everything was over now!"

"It had just begun."

Erza closed her eyes, shattered. Then uttered.

"We were only the bait."

That was it. The dragon was out.

.

 **I hope you enjoyed it and you're not too confused :) All will be explained much later! Tell me what you think about it! I would be glad to hear your theories about what is going to happen next.**

 **Next chapter will we called... Well, if I told you, it wouldn't be funny, would it?**


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